pre-op/newbie to site

Hello ya'll from Texas. Glad to have forund this site. I am having a heck of a time with my ins. They made me go to Houston from Austin to see a surgeon which is a 3 and 1/2 hour drive. That would have been tolerable but I found out fri that the surgeon and his hospital aren"t in my network. I work at a HCA facility and have First Health. I am so pizzed off that I could scream. Where do they hire those people?! If I did my job as proficiently as they, the funeral homes here would be stacked three deep with bodies. Oh well, just needed to vent. Thanks for the chance to do just that. Cyn

Welcome Cynthia!

Hi Cynthia, I am here in Fort Walton Beach, Fla. and I work for a HCA hospital and have First Health Insurance. I had no problems at all with my insurance. Seems like you must have gotten hold of a real jewel. Is there anyone at your facility that does the bypasses? I guess not if they sent you to Austin. Don't get discouraged. You have to play the game with some real class idiots. I had my surgery in Jan of this year and have been doing great, down 90 lbs. So hang in there. It took me about 5 weeks to get the approval so it may be a little slow -- I have heard of other insurance companies approving the procedures in 1-2 weeks. But we just had a young man in our support group with BCBS of Fla, who has waited about 3 months to get his approval. But he got it and went to surgery yesterday. Keep in touch and good luck. Meleta

Hey Meleta, Glad to hear from you. Yes I got several "winners" at the ins co. I was just told yesterday that my case is a good example of "wrong from the first telephone call". I am now going to get to use one of the SW Bariatric group docs here in Austin. They use our HCA facilities but the ins. won't approve them since they formed this group. They were and still are covered for general surgeries at all 3 of our hospitals here. Does that sound like a crock of crap to anyone else? I have been told that First Health will stop paying for wls next year. Oh well, I will surely have mine by that time. I feel sorry for all the people who won't be able to get theirs done, though. Thanks for the reply. Ck out our Texas Board sometimes. We have a great Family there. Cyn

I understand how all of you are feeling. My insurance flat out has a clause against bariatric surgery. You would think as health care providers that our insurance would be a little more comprehensive! Oh, well... I have a date Sept. 1st and it's comming out of my own pocket, but it will be worth it in the long run. Good luck to all of you. Brook