I did it..now I have a few more questions..

I put in my application for the Lap Band procedure at St.Vincent's bariatric center in Indianapolis. I was wondering if maybe someone who has had the surgery could fill me in on what to expect next. I have medicaid and I know it's a long drawn out process, but I have no idea what to expect. Maybe someone could explain the process to me? Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you so much for taking the time to read to this.

Hey Dawn,.... how are you doing? Greetings from Terre Haute, too. I have my RNY at St. V, also. I think it was a great place. Which doctor will you have there? Do you go to the Terre Haute St. V support groups? I do believe they're the last Monday of every month. It should tell you on the St. V web page. I don't get there very often anymore, life has been so hectic, but I found them pretty helpful in the early part of the process and after surgery.

HI Dawn! Congratulations on your decision! I also had the RNY at St. V's. It depends on who your doctor is as to what you need to do next. I had Dr. Jones and her office gal told me what to do. Her name is heather. If you can go to the support group in your area and they can help with the questions also. THis site is a great place for information thoughHope you have a great weekend! Alot of the people from this website are going to holiday world so the blogs will be scarce this weekend compared to normal. Good Luck and catch ya later! Michelle

Hello Dawn, I too have had the lapband. My insurance was Medicare and Indiana Medicaid. I'm not sure how long it will take via St. V's because I went through St. Francis's program. But I'm sure just about all programs are the same when submitting insurance approval. My approval only took less then a week. It took my longer to get a surgery date, haha! I was approved in early April but couldn't get into the surgeon because of his schedule till very late August. After they submit your packet to Medicaid there is a rep that will check to make sure all the required info is there, if it is it's sent to a review board, then review EVERYTHING in the packet, then they make their decision (mostly yes if everything is in there), then notify your surgeon, and then St V's will let you know and then schedule your surgery. You can call the customer service number on the back of your Medicaid card at any time and check on the status of your review. I've never had a bad experience with the CSR's but I have heard that some times they can be cranky and rude. But... if you have any questions call them. They can be helpful. For example I called because of a requirement on their end... and the CSR told me how to provide the proof in the simplest way that it was funny. In other words... how to cheat in your requirements. Good Luck and hang in there till St V's calls. Blessings Jodi

this is actually quite funny, i was so excited, i got the center wrong, it's actually St. Francis, I had to do the application via the internet at www.stfrancisbariatric.remedymd.com, I have no idea why I got confused, maybe because I was told to call St. V's.  Thank you so much for this information, you've been extremely helpful