Looking for new fill doctor

Hi, fellow Mississippians!  I had a LapBand placed in Oct. of 2007 with a surgeon in Little Rock.  I had some issues after the surgery that have been cleared up and are under control.  Anyway, I found out at my last fill in June that my surgeon is no longer a Blue Cross provider.  I was hoping maybe you folks could recommend a surgeon/doctor to go to in state for fills and if you know how the doctor would feel about taking on a new patient just for fills.

Thanks so much!!!! John

John,
I'm not sure if BC BS of MS pays for fills unless you are a state employee. At least that was the case last year when I asked about it.

However, my doctor is in Ocean Springs (Dr. William Avara). His website is http://www.smsurgicalweightloss.com/ and his phone number is (228) 872-7277.

Good luck!
~ Tammy

Sorry, I have Blue Shield of CA.....only in CA, I believe, are Blue Cross and Blue Shield 2 separate companies.  My employer's home office is in CA, which is why it's Blue Shield of CA, however, I live and work in MS.

Ocean Springs would be a bit of a drive from Greenville.  I was looking for somebody no further south than Jackson.

Thanks!
John

John,
I'm not sure if that puts a wrench things or not.
It sounds like you have 2 options then.

Call BS of CA.

- or -

Start calling Lap Band surgeons in the state and ask for their billing departments.

Here is a listing of the Bariatric Centers of Excellence in Mississippi. Insurance companies are more likely to pay for treatment from one of these highly-qualified and competent medical providers.

http://www.surgicalreview.org/locate.aspx?state=US-MS#srchResults

Hope this helps,
Tammy

Did you ever find a Dr. To take you? I was Banded in Aug 2004 and moved to MS in 06 and have not been able to find a dr to give me my fills. I don't have insurance but they all keep telling me it is a risk. What the heck if you move to another state and you have a heart problem or diabetes those drs will treat you, so I dont see the difference. I am going to start going to all the drs websites on the Gulf Coast and post negative things if I cant get one soon.

No, I didn't.  It's actually less expensive for me to continue to use my current doctor and pay the extra for a non-participating provider percentage.  I did find out, I had to get the visits pre-approved since it is a non-participating provider.

I do remember seeing something in my dr's office a while back about a so-called network of lap-band surgeons sponsored through the lap-band manufacturer.  This is supposedly for people traveling who need a fill or un-fill.  I'll search on the lap-band website and see what I can find.

As long as the provider accepts BC/BS they will accept the out of state insurance because they have to bill the MISSISSIPPI BC/BS and they in turn channel it through to the proper BC/BS.  I have BC/BS of Maryland and live and work in MS.  Home office is in Maryland.

Cheryl