kmn1109

Good to know, thanks!

After wading through insurance crud, I looked into self-paying and doing it thru Blossom Bariatric's Fast Track program in Las Vegas. My cost would be $6300 all-inclusive, including hotel and transport between hotel and facility for the five days. The selling points include convenience as opposed to the options available with my insurance (closest hospital covered by insurance is a 6-hr drive vs. a 90-min flight to LV), no worries about losing weight before the procedure and getting declined (I'm borderline 40BMI), and no 3- or 6-month waiting period. I have three concerns: 1) Post-surgery followup and care. 2) The "safe sleeve" procedure they do... I can find very little information about it. 3) Not being able to meet the surgeon prior to committing to surgery at the facility. So... has anybody out there had the "safe sleeve" procedure through Blossom Bariatrics in Las Vegas?

After having hit a brick wall with Blue Shield (if your Blue Shield coverage is through covered california, you are limited to doctors/facilities in Southern California, and the closest one for me is 6 hrs away), I am considering switching to Kaiser during the upcoming open enrollment. If you've had the procedure approved and you're with Kaiser Northern Calif, would you recommend them? Are their requirements so strict that a lot of people get declined? I had read somewhere that they require that you've been morbidly obese for at least 2 of the last 5 years. Is there somewhere I can find a list of the co-morbidities they consider? I have high cholesterol, fatty liver and stage 4 osteoarthritis and am right at 40 BMI, but they say that they will consider 35-39.9 BMIs if they have serious obesity-related health issues "such as diabetes, coronary heart disease or severe sleep apnea." So I feel like I need to gain a couple of lbs. (which I'm good at) to have a little cushion. I can't get info on the Kaiser website unless I am a member. Bottom line is, I don't want to switch to Kaiser only to discover that something will disqualify me. I see some specialists I'd prefer not to give up, so would hate to be stuck with Kaiser if I can't get approved for the surgery through them (or they don't cover it if you get it through covered california. ) Has anyone here with covered california navigated this maze?