frustrated w/ dr moen

I am beginning to get frustrated w/ dr moen's office.  In Nov I had my last supervised diet meeting and at the same time i had my pre-op consult w/ DVR.  I had to postpone the surgery due to a change in insurance and in Jan found out DVR was leaving.  Since I stayed at GBMC I had to have a meeting w/ Dr. Moen.  Ended up being charged  for $ 215.00 for the pre-op visit.  Thank goodness I have insurance but I called the office & asked why I was charged for this visit.   I was charged bec it was the pre-op visit... I explained to her that I had this in Nov w/ DVR and didnt feel I should be charged.  Jean let me know that it wasnt recorded that I had the pre-op the end of nov and promptly asked if I would llike be charged for that also since it was missed.  It wasnt MISSED> appearently the office at that time had it set up so there would be no charge. It was purposefully scheduled the same day as the last diet meeting.   The lady who scheduled me told me for the NOv apt said they always do it the same day.  (gee maybe they were trying to help the patients).   Now I am told the price for a fill has doubled.   DVR quoted me 150.00 it is now $300.00.   Do they think we are made of money or does Moen just want a fancier car?   I get a fill tomorrow and I will let him know that It needs to be a good one bec the band is fairly useless empty.  And I definately can NOT afford to have 5 or 6 fills.  

What insurance do you have if you don't mind me asking? I had no idea one had to payfor the pre op visit. I didn't pay for it.  So do you ean that everytime you go for a fill you have to pay out of pocket and it is not covered by your insurance?  That has got to be so frustrating since you have to keep getting a fill until yyou find the sweet spot I hear. I am sorry you are gong through all that!  Especially the person who answered you the way they did I would be livid! hugs,

If you have a 10cc band, he will likely only give you 3ccs, under fluoro since it's your first, and you won't get another fill until your loss slows to less than 1 pound a week.  I have my surgery on November 30, my first and only fill on January 17, and a follow up appointment on March 17 with no fill.  He's very conservative about fills.  As long as you're losing he won't fill you.  As he explained to me, you should do as much as you can on your own with a bit of assistance from the band, then when you've done what you can that way, that's when you need the ability to get fills for good restriction towards the end.  At that time, it will be all the band, very little you.  If you've already filled a lot, there is little or no room left to get those last stubborn pounds off. Although I was disappointed, after thinking about it and whining on the lap band forum, I came to understand that this is the way the band is supposed to be utilized.  I don't think I recognize your name from the lap band forum.  I don't know if you do read the general forum, but it would be in your best interest to read some of the stories on there.  There are quite a few people who have aggressive docs who give them fill after fill, every month, sometimes every couple of weeks.  Those are the people who end up with problems.  They are too tight.  Can't keep even soft foods down.  Can't eat meat, much needed for the proper amount of protein.  Some can't even keep water down.  They end up going back for unfills, have reflux problems, etc.  That's not for me.  I want to do this the way it is intended to be done.  I don't need problems.  That's why I went with the band in the first place instead of having more radical surgery (RNY or Sleeve).  I don't seem to heal well inside.  Get lots of scar tissue, so I shied away from the other surgeries for that reason and the fact that I had less than 100 pounds to lose.  I go back on May 22nd, and I believe he will give me a fill this time as I have slowed down.  I've been losing and gaining the same two pounds for the past 4 weeks, so it's time. As far as the fill price, I remember Dr. Moein saying at the info seminar I attended last July, that after the first of the year, insurance companies were not going to cover fills the same way and they'd be $300.00.  I think he mentioned that most companies were only going to cover one fill.  The rest would be on the patient. I don't know how I will feel about all the new staff.  No one from the original office remains.  Kathy Storm, Sloane Mendelson, Rose...all gone.  We'll just have to see how the new people are, but sounds like you got a snide remark about the billing.  I hope things go better for you. Terri

I wasn't sure if I was going to stay with GBMC or move over to St. Agnes with DVR for a few months. I needed a refill for my prevacid back in the winter. I called and called. I received no response from GBMC. I finally got the number for DVR and he called me back right away. That clinched it for me. I not only need service from my surgeon, I need service from the office staff as well. I have had nasty messages left about staying with the program from GBMC staff. Good service and bedside manner is crucial.

My insurance is Cigna...   and they arent the best either.    I loved Mamsi but my company switched to Cigna.    Its Open Access but they either refuse to pay or question everything the doc wants to do. But they paid for the surgery and pay for 1 fill.   Dr Moein has obviously never had a weight problem or he would wake up and realize that people have the surgery bec they cant lose weight by dieting. If i could take off the weight by myself I wouldnt have had to have the surgery in the 1st place.  Some people can lose weight but put it back on. I just dont lose weight.  I also gained a pound since my visit 4/17.   I usually post on the lapband forum but I wanted feedback from people closer home. I dont post that often bec my computer is dial up and old. It takes forever to pull up a page.  Thanks for your posts. I have my fill today at 11:30. I will try to bridle my tongue.

i was with dvr and when i had my last consult with him before the ins. claim was to be sent in jan., i was told he was leaving for st. agnes. dvr told me if i wanted him to do my surgery i would have to wait until april. so i called dr. averbach's office while in dvr's soon to be ex office and was told to get all my records and bring them over asap. dr. averbach saw me that day and i received my aproval 3 days later from united health care. i had my surgery feb 7. the insurance companies want to make it as hard as pos. to get this surgery. the doctors staff should know exactly what each patient needs to have done for the ins. companies to pay for the surgery. when i was with dvr at gbmc i thought the staff was pretty bad. i remember calling the office for over an hour one morning and getting the answering service because someone at dvr's former office forgot to turn the phones on. not a good sign. dvr was right to go to st. agnes and i believe a patient should follow his doctor if at all pos.

DVR is my surgeon, and fortunately for me, I had my surgery long before all the bad changes occurred at GBMC.  I even went so far as to call Kathy Storm in DVR's office and tell her of the horrible reputation their program was developing on this board.  Soon after, I received DVR's letter stating he was transferring to St. Agnes. Although it's not close to home, I am, too!!!  DVR Rocks!!!!   Go with your gut - if you're not comfortable, don't do it!!!  I explored another surgeon prior to DVR and did NOT like the vibes I got from him.  Am I glad I gave GBMC a chance! Take care, Tia

Just so everyone knows, though:  DVR ran the GBMC program.  Dr. Moein was his subordinate.  The changes that have happened are driven by GBMC's board and administrator.  Dr. von Rueden said at a support group meeting that he was unhappy that decisions had been made to terminate contracts with certain insurance carriers and change terms with others.  They knew this was coming for a while, at least back in July when Dr. Moein warned everyone at the info seminar. I truly do not believe that all of the office staff left because they didn't want to work with Dr. Moein.  Many of them sung his praises to me.  In fact, after DVR left, at my first fill on Jan. 17, Dr. Moein was teaching Kathy Storm how to do fills.  I was her first guinea pig, and he was very kind and patient with her and me.  I don't know where the staff went.  Some may have had the opportunity to join DVR (but the St. Agnes website does not reflect that), some may have transferred to other departments in the hospital, and some may have gone to other employers. I guess I'm here somewhat in Dr. Moein's defense.  He's had all of this thrown on him along with a new staff and I think he's doing the best he can.  And, as I said before, he's a conservative doc, follows the proven manufacturer's guidelines regarding bands, and I'm sure sticks to protocol on other WLS.  Personally, I'm going to give him the benefit of the doubt, and let him work through dealing with all that has been thrust upon him.  It goes both ways.  He's been used to interacting with staff that know how things are supposed to be, he and they were all trained by DVR, and now he's dealing with new people GMBC has shoved on him.  He doesn't know them, they don't know him, they probably don't know what the heck they are doing, and they sure don't seem anywhere near as personable as the prior team.   I'm sure there's a lot of pressure to succeed.   I did hear a rumor that St. Agnes is going to be working with St. Joseph to start a full program there.  Maybe that's DVR's ultimate destination?  Just a thought. Terri

I have to agree with Terri.  I decided to stay with GBMC when DVR left because of the service I received directly from HIM.  Dr. Moein has been so much more personable and kind to me.  His staff is getting it.  No one can start a new job and be completely proficient right away.   Also, I had an issue with my surgery being cancelled (under DVR) and called for 3 days and he wouldn't call me back.  I even went to his office in full on hysterical crying and couldn't get a call from him.  Under Dr. Moein, I have had 2 times where I had to call him after hours.  I left a message with the answering service and he called back literally within 2 minutes both times. My husband and I also both had horrible experiences with Rose.  I won't even go ino that. I had my 1 month pre-op appt today and it was great. The woman checking me out was saying how she barely recognized me and was so excited that I was not in my wheelchair anymore.  Then Nick came down the hall and saw me and seemed thrilled about me not being in the wheelchair.  (I love Nick, he is great!)   The girl who did all my vitals and weighed me in was super nice and complemented me on losing so much. So I have to say that I am thrilled with Dr. Moein and GBMC.  I was soo upset when DVR left, but it turned out to be the best thing for me!

I thought I'd follow up the post after my fill yesterday..   Nick is always wonderful with the patients who come in to the office I hope they appreciate him as much as the patients do. I only gained 1/2 lb - which is better than I expected w/ an empty band. Dr Moein only gave me 1.5cc (10cc Inamed band). I tried to get him to go more but no go.  I did explain to him that I didnt know about getting any more fills bec of the price. He really didnt know about the $300.00 price tag. The success of the band is with the fills and I just cant understand why they want to charge that much. If they really are serious about wanting the patient to succeed they need to tame that down a little.  afterall they do charge that program fee - and I still havent figured out what I got in return. I have asked several times but I just get told about the services I dont need, like their free counseling, the meetings w/ sloane, and support group meetings.    Counseling  - dont need. Support group meeting - free in westminster. Dr supervised diet - $20.00 copay at pcp x 6= $120.00. $500.00 program fee - ?   Dr moein did say he would work with me on the price of the fills.    It looks like I dropped 3 lbs over night - probably water, I looked a little puffy yesterday. I hope they get tings straightened out  soon.