Hello,

i live in southern california, i have Medi-Cal insurance (HealthNet, Mainstream Molina) i called my insurance and asked about bariatric/lap-band surgery coverage and was told they will pay for anything that is deemed medically necessary and referred by my doctor.

So i have my doctor's appointment next week and i am going to go over all my symptoms with him and hoping he will refer me to get the surgery.

- Does anyone have experience with similar situation?

- Do you have all the symptoms, but your doctor won't refer you to get the surgery?

- Is it easy for doctor to refer insurance to cover and get surgery done?

- In your experience, given my info below do you think i will get referred by my doctor?

about me:

36 years

5-10" / 370 lbs.

BMI= 53 (40+ considered morbid obese)

Symptoms:

Sweating with light movement (short walk, house cleaning, stairs, standing for long time)

Shortness of breath (walking up stairs in home, moving furniture around, walking over 20 yards)

Burning lower back pain (walking over 50 yards, house work)

Heart burn

Wheezing (sometimes)

Hyper Tension

thanks!

thanks all, for the advice...

Initially my doctor would not support my decision for lap band. I started the process without his approval and when it came down to it and I had to call him, because he was going to get my test results, I called and told the nurse that I was going to get the lap band but needed a letter of support from the dr. I explained that he had said no, but if he could not support my decision and write the letter, I would need to know because I would look for another doctor. Later that day I got a call saying my dr would write a letter of support but he would need to see me. So, my point is you may have to advocate hard for yourself and do not take no for an answer. Good luck.