mschris72

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Both the nutritionist and fitness consultant will complete their reports and hand them in to the doctor. They work right out of the doctor's office so that shouldn't take very long.  I spoke to the insurance person in Dr. Gersin's office and she said that as soon as the reports are received from the nutritionist and fitness person, Dr. Gersin while write a letter on my behalf requesting authorization to do surgery.  Once that's done, they'll submit the package to the insurance company via fax.

I was advised that, if the next phone call I receive is from the nurse, my insurance company approved the request and she's calling to schedule surgery.  If the call comes from the insurance lady, it's because the insurance declined the request.

Once surgery is scheduled, I will meet with the Dr. and the nutritionist one more time for the pre-op appointment.  This appointment is scheduled 2 weeks prior to surgery.

My sleep study was pretty interesting.  I didn't sleep very well because of all the mechanisms hooked up to you.  Plus, I had to go to sleep on my back, which I never do.  Anyway, I received the report a little more than a week later.  They said that I do have a mild case of sleep apnea.  I'm hoping this information will assist in getting insurance approval!

Okay... here's where everything stands:

 - I had my psych eval the beginning of this month and have received that report back.   
- Last week, I went to the neurologist to discuss having the sleep study done.  My sleep study is going to be done Friday, 03/28/2008 and it takes approximately 2-5 days to get the results of that in a report. 
- This evening I attended the WLS Support Group Meeting in Charlotte.  It was required that I attend at least one of these meetings before they'll schedule my surgery date.
- On April 1st, I have an appointment with the nutritionist and fitness person in Dr. Gersin's office.

As soon as I receive the results of the sleep study, I am going to fax it to Dr. Gersin's office.  After that, we should be able to submit my package to the insurance company for approval!!!

I had my first appointment with the bariatric surgeon.  I went to see Dr. Gersin at Carolinas Weight Management Center in Charlotte, NC.  Dr. Gersin had a wonderful bedside manner and was very informative.  The staff there was really nice as well.  I had labwork done during the visit and was advised of what needs to be done before my package is submitted to my insurance company for approval.

- I was advised that I need to have a psychological evaluation done.  I already had this scheduled and my appointment with the psychologist is on 3/4/08.

 - I need to obtain my medical records so that I can provide my weight history for the past 3 years.  I've already done this, so I'm good here.  (Some insurance companies require a 5 year history.)

 - I am required to attend at least one support group meeting before I have surgery.  They're held on the last Wednesday or Thursday of the month.  so, the next one won't be until the end of March.

 - I was told that I need to see a nutritionist and fitness consultant.  Both of them are in-house.  So, I was able to schedule my apoointment with them before I left the surgeons office.  Both of my appointments for them are on 04/01/08.

 - Lastly, I need to have a sleep study done.  So, I contacted my PCP for a referral to have this done.  I'm hoping to get this done within the next month.

As you can see, the very soonest I'll be able to get my package submitted is the beginning of April.  So, I'm "guessing" that maybe I'll be able to get surgery scheduled for the end of April or possibly the beginning of May.  I'm hoping that it'll be sooner rather than later.  But, we shall see.  :)

I received a call from CMC Mercy to schedule my first appointment with the surgeon.  I will see Dr. Gersin on February 29th.  I've already put a call in to schedule my psych eval.  But, I have to talk directly to the psychologist before I'm allowed to schedule my appointment for the testing.  I'm hoping the psychologist will return my call today so that I can get that appointment scheduled as well.  My medical records are supposed to be on the way.  I expect to receive them in the mail before the end of this week.  I'm really "hoping" that this will speed up the whole process so we can get a surgery date scheduled as soon as possible!  But, we shall see... 

I was told that the insurance specialist would have to contact everyone's insurance providers to verify coverage and that, after this was done, someone would be calling to set up an appointment to see the doctor.
There is a $150 program fee, which I have no problem with.  If my insurance ends up covering this procedure (fingers crossed), I'll only end up paying a $25.00 co-pay for the surgery.  I can definitely handle that!!!