I want to know what kind of insurance is accepted in order to get the lap band surgery done?

I have read some of the threads and postings, is it really necessary for me to go to Mexico to get the surgery done?

How do you begin your search for a Dr. in Chicago, IL?

Who is truly the best Dr. for the job?

You'll have to call your insurance company or look online and see if they cover the surgery!

I had my surgery done in TN where I was living.....you can google "lap bands Chicago, IL" ....this should give you some options. Once you have names....then you look on the IL Board of Medicine and you can find any reports against them. This may help. Also go meet them....hopefully, you have good "gut" instinct and will know who to select. Many will let you talk to former/current patients.

Hope this helps....

God Bless,

Melody

Banded 3/20/06 -43lbs :second:

I'm in northern Illinois, about an hour north of Chicago. I've heard excellent things about the Wish Center and I'm pretty sure they have a location in Chicago. Dr. Iwanicki (sp?) at Wish is supposed to be very good, as are the 2 other docs that work with him. I'm hoping to get it done at the hospital up by me, Centegra's Bariatric Center, with Dr. Haydari, but if I wasn't going through him, I'd go through Wish.

As for insurance, it varies a lot from what I can tell. SOme cover it, some don't, some do only after you jump through a ton of hoops, ie be on a dr-supervised diet for up to a year, submit lots of extra tests, and do a bunch of appeals. Unfortunately, mine insurance won't cover it for me. My BMI is only 40 and I have no co-morbidities, so they won't consider it a medical neccessity. I also need to be enrolled in the ins plan for 2 years and I just started this past January. So, I'll be self-pay. :second: Call your insurance company and they should be able to tell you what you need to get it approved. Some are better than others. Good luck!

I had it done at the wish center in chicago by Dr Rosen. Awesome dr!! I was self pay and Out Of Pocket cost for me was 8700$ It was really quite easy. I called and made an appointment and a week later met with the group. It was about 4 hours long. I had ekg, cxray, pulmonary function test, ultrasound all done in the office. I got to meet with nutrionist, exercise person, finance person, and surgeon. This first appointment/eval was about 1700$ but it got submitted to my insurance and paid with no questions asked. I went back to my primary to get blood work done and to have the sleep studies done. This was also submitted and paid for by my insurance. I had to wait 6 weeks and prove myself by following the pre-op diet, logging my food intake and getting exercise. I went for the second meeting after 5 weeks of practice and by then I had my surgery scheduled. I paid credit in the office for 3500$ that day for surgeon fee. I went home and called the hospital and paid credit for hospital and anesthesia fees approx 5200$. I had my surgery this past thursday. The facility was very nice. Got a private room and was extremely comfortable there!!!! I would highly recommend this center. I did do quite a bit of research prior to picking a place, and am very pleased with my decision. If you want more details, I would be happy to answer them....

My insurance company is BCBS and they do pay for surgery but require a year of supervised diet by MD...and they require all the documentation of what happened that year. I didn't know this at first so I didn't use my insurance. I was unable to wait another year to jump this hurdle. I wanted to be done, so I just paid myself.

You don't have to go to Mexico to have the surgery--but, it is usually cheaper. I had my band done by Dr. Sanchez in Monterrey, Mexico. It was a wonderful experience!! But, obviously they don't accept insurance in Mexico--so, if you can get insurance to pay for it I would go that route.

One more reason to use your insurance - or find a reasonable self-pay doctor in the US....after care. With the band, good restriction is EVERYTHING, and it is often difficult to find a local doc who will do fills for someone banded in Mexico. If you decide to go out of the country for surgery, be sure you have someone lined up in your area before you get the band who will do your fills.