az062217vsg

Thanks all for the feedback. I was wondering about out-patient vs. in-patient too. Personally I would probably want at least one night in the hospital, just because I tend to get dehydrated easily. In Tucson I was quoted just over $18,000 with Dr. Chiasson for self-pay, hence why I am looking at Phoenix too. I'll probably look into Evolve. I was looking at their website and they seem to advertise ways to finance self-pay.

Hi all, I am new here. I attended a weight loss surgery seminar last week (12/13) and they collected my insurance information. On Friday (12/16) I received a call from them informing me my insurance does cover surgery (not an official approval though, just that it is a covered benefit). I have my first official surgical consult on Wednesday (12/21). I've started jotting down questions, but I'm wondering if anyone has any questions you asked or wished you had asked. I'm hoping this process goes smoothly and that I am approved for surgery, but I also know it is a process. Thanks for any advice!

Hey Lorin, so how did it go today? Not as well as I had hoped. It looks like I likely won't qualify for insurance to pay for the surgery. I am a little taller than I thought, so my BMI is below 40 and I do not have any comorbidities (I did have back surgery for a herniated disc due to being overweight and have hypothyroidism so when we submit to insurance we will try including those). If we are going to try the insurance route I need to do a medically supervised diet for 6 months. The nurse practitioner and bariatric coordinator both said to not lose much weight though during the 6 months since my BMI is already below 40. The self-pay cost would be $18,025. I think I am going to check with one more surgeon in town to see what his self-pay prices would be (he is also at a closer hospital to my house). I will probably go with the surgeon with the cheaper self-pay price, so that if insurance does deny after the 6 months of dieting I can move forward with a loan.

Good luck! I have my first appointment tomorrow. Hoping for a quick approval, too.

Thanks, all! My mom has insisted that she come to the appt, so she will be there with tons of questions probably. Sent from my iPhone using the BariatricPal App