Cloteal

There's another lady on the forum that went through Dr. Enoch's office, she said she had her eval done by a Psych Dr. at Dorothea Dix for $55.00, and she had it done on her own. I'm pretty sure you can contact that physician to schedule an eval to atleast get that portion done.

Good for you. You should be straight then on your coverage. You shouldn't have to pay anything out of pocket. I'm concerned that I'll have to pay my deductible prior to my surgery. I believe that's $600, I just paid $300 for my phych eval. Times are really hard right now. I probably shouldn't complain because there are some whose insurance won't cover any part. I just thank God, for what my insurance will cover.

Do you have more than one insurance carrier?

Who did you decide to go through to do your surgery?

Congrats to you. Do you have to pay anything up front before you have the surgery?

Good for you, I hope all goes well. Keep us posted on how things are moving along for you. I'm still waiting for an approval from my insurance company too. I'll keep you all posted as well.

Well being that said, you guys I guess it all depends on where you go. I was referred to Duke after Pinehurst wouldn't even allow me an appt with their Doc saying my BMI was below 40 and it would basically be a waste of there time. Well, I'm through the final stages of my journey of getting the surgery done. I'm just waiting on insurance approval, Duke has a really great team and they don't mind working. I really appreciate them. Just keep me in your prayers that I get approved. I don't know why I wouldn't my BMI was just a little over 40 and I have high blood pressure, but I am not taking meds for it as of right now. I'm hoping that when I lose this weight I won't even need BP meds. Well I'll keep those informed that want to know what's going on.

Maybe that is what I'm thinking about. Thanks. I hope all goes well for her, like you said it wouldn't make sense for them not to do it. I do think it depends on ones insurance.

Yes, parrothead is correct about having to have comorbidities if your BMI is under a 40, but if it's more than a 50, I think that's another story. I believe you have to have comorbidities as well if its over 50.

Well today I went for my psych eval, all went well, last about 45 min, nothing to it at all. Now I'm just waiting I guess for insurance approval. Wish me luck and I'll keep you all posted.

I don't know about that, I think if your BMI is above a 50 you will need to have comorbidities. I would check to make sure.

I called this number 919.470.7000 and made an appt for one of their seminars, they were really nice, of course they were booked, but I called almost every day to see if someone cancelled, what they did was took my name and number and called me when someone cancelled. I had my seminar on 05/12, my first visit with the Dr on 06/15, my Psych eval is sched for 06/30, this is all with Duke. I am very pleased that I went to Duke, of course there are others that you can attend. Good luck to you.

That would be awesome if I did, but I'm not sure how fast they move. I would be happy with a August date. I don't even know if I'm approved yet, well I'll just speak it into existence.

Hi all, I have an update. Well I finally got to see the Physician who will be doing my surgery (Dr. Sudan) YAYYYYYY! Well everything seem to have went pretty well, I saw the nutritionist and took some test (EKG/Chest xray). I go for my PSYCH eval on 06/30 and after that I should be able to get a surgery date if I'm approved. Hopefully I won't have any problems, my BMI was over 40 and I do have HBP. Wish me luck, it will soon be here.

I'm just like the other writer who didn't get charged by their PP, I can't imagine getting charged, I pay my co-pays every visit. That just does not seem fair, but if I had to pay for the letter, I probably would have but complained about it. They don't write the letters themselves anyway,the office manager does and I'm pretty sure it's saved in their computer and all they have to do is change the name and a few diagnosis, etc. Well that said, I hope all is well for you. Good luck and I do wish you well.

OMG! This was well said and very encouraging to me. I have not yet had my surgery, don't have a date yet, but I go see the Surgeon on 06/15, I'll probably get a surgery date then. I too was concerned about the pre-op, post-op liquid, I didn't know if I would be able to do it, but you are such a great encourager, I now believe I can and will. Thanks for that and keep up with the good job your doing.

Yes, I will investigate more, but I really believe that Duke will be better for me. The staff at Duke is wonderful, they all are very nice and have great customer service. I didn't have a good experience with Dr. Mitchell's office and heard not so good things about Dr. Enoch's office (meaning staff). So far I'm satisfied with Duke, I know it's a long way for me to drive, but it will be better in the long run.

Thanks for the encouragement. I am morbidly obese, my height is 5', and I weigh 207. My feet swell sometimes so bad they throb, I'm considered borderline high blood pressure. My doctor says my weight is the cause of increasing blood pressure. I just pray that I get approved, I can't continue like this.

Thank you for giving me that info, I called the Psych Dr. that I'm scheduled to see as I was told that I may not be able to go outside of Duke (left a msg for her to return my call). Oh yea by the way, HAPPY BELATED BIRTHDAY TO YOU (imagine me singing this)haha. Talk to ya later.

Can you please provide me with her (Psych) name and number. I chose Duke because it was recommended based on the fact that I was borderline BMI. I first was going to Dr. Mitchell in Pinehurst, I couldn't even get an consult with him as his insurance specialist bluntley stated in so many words that I don't qualify. This happened to someone else and they went to Duke and was approved, and they referred me to Duke.

Thanks Skep, and I should say congrats to you on your weight loss. You should be proud that you lost 35 pounds , that is a big accomplishment. Keep up the good work.

I live in Fayetteville, but I work in Raleigh. I wonder if I can find my own Psych Dr., or do I have to use one of theirs. Thanks for this information. When were you banded?

Ok, I finally received a call on Friday from Duke to schedule an appt with the surgeon. My first appt is 06/15 with the surgeon, Dr. Sudan, then on 06/30 I see the Psych Dr, I was told I would need $300.00 for this visit (out of network psychs), and when I go again the second visit with the Psych Dr I will need to pay $250.00, which will be reinbursed once I file with my insurance. The Rep that called me said it would be reinbursed, she didn't say at what percentage though, but I spoke with my insurance co BCBS of NC and I believe it will be at 80%.

Hi Lisa and thanks for your comment it was very helpful. I called my insurance co and yes, you have to meet the coinsurance deductible, plus your outpatient deductible, and they will pay 80% of total bill if your coinsurance has not been met. After all your deductibles have been met they would then pay 100%. That's the way they explained it to me, I was just concerned that I was going to have to pay up front, but Duke said that they wouldn't know how much I would have to pay until I actually had the surgery and they billed my insurance. Did you have to pay for the psych eval or anything else up front?

Hi Skep, it's me again, I was told on yesterday by someone who was going through BCBS of NC that her out of pocket fees were going to be anywhere between $2000-$3000. She wasn't going to Duke it was another Surgeon in NC though. I just want to make sure when I go for my appt, that I'm still waiting for that they don't tell me this. I'm prepared to pay for the psych eval. Just need some assurance. Thanks