kmorri

So I found this statement on the IL department of insurance website...each state has different rules so since you live in IL this would be for you....Your "exchange" policy is an individual policy and your work policy is a group policy, so the way I read this is they don't have to coordinate with each other.....(COB means Coordination of Benefits) NOTE: Individual health insurance policies do not have to comply with the COB rules. Those policies may have special provisions in place if you have more than one policy. You should review your individual health insurance policy to see how it pays if other insurance is involved. Here's a link to the document as well. http://insurance2.illinois.gov/healthinsurance/coord_benefits.asp for some reason the link isn't working....if you copy and past the link in your browser rather than just clicking on it it should work...

@@UpandAtom since I retired prior to the ACA plans hitting the market, I'm afraid to try to answer your question regarding who is primary....(my guess would be your work policy).....As far as the two different BCBS plans knowing about each other....not necessarily.... However, they do communicate with each other and do have the ability to find out about each other.....but each state has their own BCBS plan and are separate companies and just members of the same Blue Cross association.......Your HR department my be your best source for an answer without having to call either of the insurance companies....I'll also touch base with a couple of my contacts that are still working and see if I can find an answer for you.....I'll let you know if I find out anything.

@@UpandAtom be careful with which insurance you file with.....if your work insurance is primary the claim has to be filed with them first....once they process it, either pay or deny then it can be sent to the secondary. If both of your insurances cover the surgery now you're going to be in really good shape, but you may need an auth with both companies......just an fyi from a BCBS of Florida retiree.

oh one more thing I've heard.......it's usually the self-pay patients who go home the same day. That's so the total costs can be held to a minimum..

I have heard of folks going home same day but that's not the norm.....They usually keep you over night and the next morning they do a x-ray test to check for leaks before they release you to go home. I think that's the main reason they keep you over night.

it's usually an overnight stay in the hospital, sometime two.......and it depends on the work you do as to how quickly you'll feel up to returning.....I work from home and plan on working on the Thursday after my Monday surgery, but I've scheduled the whole week off just in case. People who have jobs other than working at home I've seen on this site anywhere from 2 weeks to a month off work.... I'm sorry your having difficulty getting in touch with your surgeons office because they will be the best ones to advise you.

Your patient advocate can probably answer that question better than anyone else. They usually have experience working with many different insurance companies and they will also have an idea of how far out the surgeons schedule is booked.

I'm sort of doing this.....but not really. My issue right now is I have to make sure I don't loose any weight until after my final appointment on 4/25. I just have to make sure I don't fall below a 40 BMI.......I'm at a weight right now that I would normally be dieting and trying to loose weight.....it's a very weird feeling to eat like I do right now. I'm actually looking forward to 4/25 so I can start my pre-surgery diet. I'm very uncomfortable and so ready to start getting rid of some of this weight!!

@@Isabel2point0 Good for you!!! How exciting 5/27 will be here before you know it!!

I think you'll get mostly positives for the sleeve since you're in the sleeve forum.....but I decided on sleeve because I don't want to worry with multiple adjustments and I know while doing my research I saw way too many complications with lap band....To me the decision between lap band and sleeve was an easy one....the one that took a little more thought was decided between sleeve and bypass.......and for that the bypass just seemed more extreme than what I wanted to do.

wow! I'm sorry you're having a tough time and am happy that you're getting better. Take care!

@@Lisa_85 yes it grows back.....the only thing that is making your hair fall out is the extensive weight loss. Once your weight is stable it will stop and will grow back.

I haven't tried those products but I know this. The hair loss will stop once you'r weight stabilizes......Years ago I was on a Medifast diet for an extended period of time and lost a lot of weight (just didn't stay off)....but I did loose hair but I never had any "real" bald spots it just got really thin and all along it was also growing back....I remember noticing little baby hairs around my hair line and that always made me feel better. But the main thing to remember is it will stop once you stop loosing weight so quickly and based on your ticker you only have 35 pounds to go.

@@theantichick First I think it's great that you're putting a lot of thought in this before committing. For me the lifetime commitment is what I want! I want a tool that will help me the rest of my life. I don't ever want to go back..... Good luck. I know you'll make the right decision for you. Kathy

Wow! are you saying your surgery is scheduled for Thursday? That's exciting!

I'm jumping through my last hoop on 4/25......after that they will submit to my insurance. Once the approval comes in I'll get my official date but I'm being told it will be in May!......Mine will be done at St. Vincent's in Riverside by Dr. Uchal. I am so ready to get this show on the road!!!! Kathy

@@CourtneyLouise just type the letters H M O and click post and you'll see what I mean....don't put spaces between the letters.

@@CourtneyLouise It's just the letters H M O if you type those three letters together without spaces it blocks them out like this *** I've never seen this happen on any other sites. weird!

So has anyone noticed you can't type HMO on this site?.....You have to put a space between the letters like this H M O otherwise you just get *'s...........very weird!

@@Lucilla I haven't had my surgery yet......but weight loss is different based on lots of things......your starting weight makes a huge difference. The more over weight you are the more you loose initially.....Also, your diet just prior to surgery makes a big difference. If you were on a liquid diet you probably lost quite a bit during that time so you wouldn't see a big difference right after surgery. My advice is to just keep doing what your medical team tells you, and the weight will come off. If you have been doing anything outside of what your medical team prescribed stop it now and stick to the plan. You really can't compare with others because too many things impact the process on different folks. Good luck! Kathy

@@TimeIsMine I don't want to be a Debbie Downer but the most common coverage guidelines is greater that 40 BMI, or a BMI of 35 or more with commodities....I'm afraid your BMI is going to be too low.....in fact some insurances exclude coverage for BMI's of less than 35.....But then again, you never know! I wish you much luck!!!

Good luck tomorrow! I'll keep you in my thoughts. Sorry, since I haven't had my surgery yet, I don't really have any advice on foods or fluids to buy other than the normal ones you hear about......but right at first you'll be on the same as you were doing pre-op...clear Fluid at first and then full fluids......so you should be good.

@@bellabeans I have BCBS of Florida under my husband's State Employees plan.....but I didn't mean I didn't have to see a nutritionist at all...I meant I just didn't have to do the 3 or 6 months of visits like a lot of folks have to do....I only had to see her once.

Yes, I like most of the other posters suggest staying away from the frozen dinners......I think freezing your own is the way to go. The food Savers are great! You could fix all your meals for the week on the weekend............or fix and freeze single serving side dishes so all you have to cook is your meat or Protein......that way you don't have to have every meal planned out you can just have several different side dishes on had to choose from...........Good luck!

I don't know the answer to your question because my insurance doesn't require a supervised nutrition visits......but regarding retaining Fluid....I know I retain fluid as long as I'm eating carbs....My suggestion would be one week before your last weigh in cut your carbs down very low.....stop eating any breads or starches or fruits.....just eat lean meat or eggs and non-starchy veggies..... eating this way will help your body release the extra fluid......and is actually pretty close to the pre-op diet my surgeon requires. Good luck!!!