:help: Anyone out there have experiences with any facilities/doctors in the St Louis area?

Also, wanting to hear about experiences with United Health Care.

Thanks!

I have united Health care, choice plus. They required BMI of 40. My doctor submitted my paperwork for insurance approval around the end of November 2006, I was approved 12/7/06, I think within 2 weeks. Everything has been great with them.

Thanks Sunshine!

It's UHC, a federal employee plan, and 100% is covered. My BMI is only 37....gees, ONLY 37 is still huge...anyway, I'm concerned cause the only other comorbidity i have is HBP. I have a hx of depression, and my weights steadily gone up over the past 15 yrs, and a family history of diabetes and heart disease, so I'm hoping that's enough, and I don't have to jump through any hoops. I pray that it goes quick and smoothly.

Annie , I had my lap band put in at St. Alexius Hospital , which is close to the Busch Brewery in St. Louis. I went thru their Newstart program. I went to a seminar by the airport in Nov., then went thru the required psych eval , got a letter from my dr. - my co-morbities included high bp, and a heart arythmia, but my dr wrote a really good letter which probably helped. I saw Dr. Follwell 1/24 and had my surgery on 2/21 after doing a 2 week pre-op diet. Everything went really well and all at the hospital were really nice. There is no charge for dr visits and band fills afterwards. They also have support group sessions every month for bandsters to go to if you choose to. I haven't done that yet since my surgery was only 3 weeks ago. Hope this helps !

Hi Annie- I had my surgery at St. Alexis in St. Louis also. I went through Dr. Van Wagner. He is really nice. I have bcbs though. His secretary can tell you everything that you need to know- and for me she precertified me and made sure all my ducks were in a row before I had surgery. It was a breeze. I actually have an appointment in 2 weeks for another fill- can't' wait!! Good luck and if you need anything- just yell

Susan

Hi Annie- I had my surgery at St. Alexis in St. Louis also. I went through Dr. Van Wagner. He is really nice. I have bcbs though. His secretary can tell you everything that you need to know- and for me she precertified me and made sure all my ducks were in a row before I had surgery. It was a breeze. I actually have an appointment in 2 weeks for another fill- can't' wait!! Good luck and if you need anything- just yell

Susan

If you don't mind me asking, what was your starting weight?

I've started this process with Wash U Weight managment program, Dr. Eagon, but upon reviewing all of the paper work there is a $550 fee that is not refundable if your insurance denies you. I've called UHC and they say it is a covered benifit, however I am worried that they will still deny my surgery. My BMI is 37, but I am on meds for HBP, so I'm hoping it will all be alright, but $550 is alot of money to throw out the window if they choose not to approve it.

I wonder if I should check into the New Start Program before going any farther...

Thanks for your reply, and and all help is very much appreciated!

Annie: a word of caution....... ask this center if they specifically take UHC insurance....... I had this happen to me, (at a place here in KC) Luckily for me, I found a doc that was on my insurance BEFORE throwing away my money.

The place in question told me that they accept insurance but what would happen is that they would have me pay $750 for paperwork, and then pay for the surgery and then they would get the insurance to reimburse me. there was a clause in their paperwork that also said that if I chose to go somewhere else I would forfeit the $750.00

I am not using them, and I happily found a doc that was in netork!

annie ,

newstart doesn't require anything up front. you attend one of their seminars, fill out a 10 page diet/health history, have your primary dr. send them a letter stating your co-morbidities ( other health problems ) and get a psych evaluation. once they have all of your info. including insurance info, they will revue it all. they contact the insurance for you too. once they know if your approved by the insurance and if they feel that you are a good candidate, then you finally get to meet w/ the surgeon. at that meeting you will set a date for surgery. you do a 2 week pre-op liquid diet . dr. follwell works together w/ dr richards so they are both in the o.r. for sugery. 2 docs for the price of 1. lol! i would check newstart out. the dr's and everyone are really nice and helpful. after surgery there is no charge for follow-up appts. and fills are free too. my starting weight was 303.8 and it's 273.4 now after only 4 weeks. if you call linda at 314-268-6059, she is the insurance verifier for newstart, she may be able to let you know about your insurance and give you the phone # to find out when the seminars are. i know this was long , but i hope it helps ! have a great day - andrea

I really appreciate it. I thought I'd done my homework, I've been looking into this for a long time. When I first inquired with the surgeons office, and my insurance, it seemed to be simple, but now as I'm digging a little deeper, I'm concerned that my insurance will deny me, after I've spent that non refundable fee....

Thanks again for all the advice, it's really helping me through this process.

How long did the entire process take after you were approved by the doctor?

I went through the DePaul Weight Loss Institute with Dr. Scott. I had an awesome experience. I don't have UHC but I do have a federal insurance program and they worked with me. I know they cover a wide variety of insurance programs. They are a Center of Excellence.

I started looking into WLS at the Barnes program but my insurance would not cover them (Fortunately I figured that out before I put out the $550 non refundable fee.) DePaul has no upfront fees and my insurance has covered everything I have needed.

Good luck in whatever program you decide on.

How long did the entire process take after you were approved by the doctor?

I started looking into WLS in early September and had my surgery in February.

Hi all, I self paid so I can't talk about insurance issues, but Dr. Wagner had a $200 fee for paper work and such which was applied towards the surgery when I decided to have it, which was fantastic. Sara at Dr. Wagners office is great and will lwet you know up front anything you want to know.

Good Luck.

I was banded by Dr. Minkin at Des Peres Hospital. I highly recommend him. There were no upfront fees either.

Hi, What did you think about Dr. Follwell? I have went to the seminar. and Next week I am getting my psych eval. Can you tell me about how you feel after it all. and how you are doing now? I am from Clay City Illinois. so we are neighbors (kinda). Please write back as soon as you can.

Thank you

Beth

Annie , I had my lap band put in at St. Alexius Hospital , which is close to the Busch Brewery in St. Louis. I went thru their Newstart program. I went to a seminar by the airport in Nov., then went thru the required psych eval , got a letter from my dr. - my co-morbities included high bp, and a heart arythmia, but my dr wrote a really good letter which probably helped. I saw Dr. Follwell 1/24 and had my surgery on 2/21 after doing a 2 week pre-op diet. Everything went really well and all at the hospital were really nice. There is no charge for dr visits and band fills afterwards. They also have support group sessions every month for bandsters to go to if you choose to. I haven't done that yet since my surgery was only 3 weeks ago. Hope this helps !

My insurance company gave me the ok....in 6 months!! I have to do a 6 month doctor supervised diet prior to my surgery date. I am starting next week....I am a teacher, so I will have my surgery in January, when I can the days off. I was very disappointed, but I will go through the hoops to get to the lap prize!