Free and Clear info

Hey guys, I saw your thread re: the nutritionist fees. I know the system has changed a bit from when I had my surgery, but I can tell you what I do know. If the $$ is a problem, you can make payments on it. Just call the number and ask if you can pay a little bit at a time. Or, ask if they have any programs to knock down the total based on your income. I'm sure they will work with you. I don't really understand why Group Health makes us do this (and I happen to work for Group Health). Personally, I was disappointed in my nutritionist and felt as though I got more support from this site and other places on the web. But I thought the requirement was now a pre-op weight loss program instead of the post-op nutritional counseling? Am I wrong?

And once you get the phone calls, you'll really wonder how they can cost so much! I don't want to influence anyone's opinion re: the Free and Clear program - especially you pre-ops - but I just didn't find any value in it. In fact, I told my nutritionist not to bother calling me anymore when I was about 4 months post-op. I did speak to Harriet recently about my concerns about the program, and the reasons I was unhappy, and I'm hoping she will take them seriously and talk to Dr. Bock. Free and Clear is not a part of Group Health, so it isn't like GH wants your money - they really feel as though they are requiring you to have support post-op. Which is a good thing. They don't want you to fail. Still, I was embarrassed for Group Health that they use this as their program. There isn't really a coordination of care with them, so sometimes my doc would tell me one thing and my nutritionist would tell me the opposite. Frustrating, to say the least. In any case, maybe I just had a bad nutritionist (or maybe I'm hard to please!). Are there any other post-ops here who enjoyed the Free and Clear program? Also, I justified the total "waste" (IT'S not - this surgery is the best thing you can do for yourself) of that $1450 because I saw it as a fee for the surgery. I don't know anyone else in any other insurance company that has had to pay as little for this surgery as we do at Group Health. Or, think of it like this: Within the first year as a post-op, you will save that amount off your grocery or eating-out bills! Tish