i'm with kaiser so cal in los Angeles. i've completed the options program and am now jumping through myriad pre-surgery appointment hoops in order to get my surgery referral.

i just wanted to give everybody with kaiser so cal a shout out to say THEY ARE NOT IN CONTROL OF THIS PROCESS. be aware that you will need to be extremely pro-active in terms of your bariatric journey or an already long and involved waiting process will be made even longer and more involved.

also be aware that kaiser is farming surgeries out to ancillary facilities because they can't handle their own bariatric surgery load. this adds further complication to an already overly complicated process. i was given two choices for my surgery venue: kaiser west l.a. and an outside partner facility. i chose the outside partner facility because they have their act together and they have a considerably shorter waiting period, at least as of this moment.

my experience so far with this outside partner facility is that they are much more in control of their process than kaiser is, and kaiser has no real idea about how their outside partner facilities operate, even though they try to provide this information (which is usually inaccurate). all you really need to know is what your kaiser doctor needs in order to refer you for surgery, and what the surgeon at the outside facility needs in order to schedule your surgical consultation. my outside facility is requiring me to attend a 90-minute seminar, in which i will be given instructions and paperwork to fill out. between this seminar, paperwork, and my kaiser pre-surgery tests, i should be good to go.

with kaiser, you're going to have to steer your own ship, if you know what i'm sayin'.

Edited July 25, 201016 yr by kristykreem

Hi I'm Michele. I'm new to the site and starting KP insurance on Monday Aug 1, and have a doctor's appointment at 9am that day. I can hardly wait to to get this process going. The fear of being rejected is haunting me. I'm right on the 40 BMI border and the other only other issues I have are really painful joints and mild arthritis. I'm grateful for my low BP and no diabetes, I just hope qualify for the surgery. I'll be 51 on Aug 27 and have been a prisoner of my weight for as long as I can remember. I'm so tired of trying and failing, my heart is set on this surgery. I'm not looking forward to jumping through all the previously mentioned hoops but if I don't get turned away I'll tackle them all one at a time. I'm seeing a primary doctor in Mission Hills that referred my friend for surgery and my friend even emailed her (The doctor) and asked her to take me as a patient and she did. Then I will be (I'm guessing) doing the Options stuff through Panorama City. Please send me some good energy that I get accepted. Thanks everyone and I look forward to knowing you and hearing your stories.

Michele