I'm trying to get a hold of my emotions while at work so I need to get this out...

At my 6th and final appointment back in January, I was told my Nut went into labor and there was no coverage for her and i could wait until they get someone and train her or go to another facility. (NO COVERAGE THO, REALLY?) Waiting at this point was not an option and me, not being from MD, didnt have a clue where the options were located but they all were too far since I dont drive so my best choice was Kaiser-Capitol Hill since they were right on the property of Union Station so I was able to take the MARC train from my house directly there. FINE.

Then, I go to this Nutritionist and she is the slowest, long winded, flighty, scatterbrained, airhead-ish, person I have ever encountered at a Dr's office. She zones out while she talks, she asked the same questions over and over, every answer I gave was never even documented..30 minute appt was actually 2 hours long! FOR NOTHING!!

At this time, with all the stress, my weight continued to fluctuate so now, I don't meet the weight requirement which for Baltimore, MD, you just need to be AT or BELOW your initial weigh in. So she keeps rescheduling and when I finally did meet the requirement, she would reschedule for some reason so now, 8 months in this 6 months program, I meet the requirement, I traveled to DC from Maryland and she says at 1:30p that if I brought all my paperwork from the beginning of this process than we could submit my paper work at the 3pm OWG meeting...grrr that burned me up because she never told me to bring anything, she just said I had to show up for the final weigh in.

So she says dont worry, take this submission summary and navigate your chart and personal paperwork and answer all the questions except the last one cuz that's for me. She says she will call Monday and i will give her the answers and we can submit while Im on the phone...so I give her my NEW cell number, I see her write it on the outside of my chart on a sticky, she even read it back to me twice and yet, she calls the old cell number all day she claims and later leaves me a message at work (On my day off) saying she wasn't going to play phone tag with me and that she was going to submit what she has and if it gets denied next week then we can redo the submission process. WTH, if they met last week while i was in the office, that means we had 2 weeks to complete the paperwork and send the correct info.....NOW, i have to wait to weeks to be denied, then redo it all and wait another 2 weeks for approval???

Then she got nasty with me, like she's doing me some kind of favor. Gonna say if I paid my phone bill we wouldn't have this problem....WTH, I have a brand new phone and number, she must have forgot that too...grrrrrr, this lady is rubbing me all the wrong ways but i dont wanna go back to my home office since the new girl is still training...sorry boo, you cant touch my folder!! So now she has officially submitted my papers on MONDAY, so I have no choice, I will wait, pray and have faith that her 8 years as a Nutritionist works on my behalf. I need this to be over ASAP, I'm getting worn out and the work hasnt even really begun.

I feel a lil better I guess...just didnt wanna cry at work...smh!

P. S. If you wanna know what info needs to be submitted, I will attach the form for BALTIMORE, MD. Good luck BP fam!!

20140319104905881.pdf

Wow... that really sucks, I'm sorry you're dealing with this. Pre-op is so stressful already! My advice is, well I doubt you will be approved if that is what was provided to the insurance company. Stay diligent and maybe lighten up a little bit with the Nut. If she's all you got then she's your best friend right now. Make her an advocate, not your enemy. Kiss butt? Yeah, maybe a tiny bit. Once you get what you want from her then you can kindly put in a compaint about her services.

Take care and well wishes on the rest of your pre-op journey!

I am so sorry to read your story and I so commiserate with you. My story was no where near the same as far as specifics but similar in that I think a lot of the bariatric surgeons and their staff (people associated with the bariatric practice) treat us as cattle to be fed through the chutes. I think they handle so many more people than a regular surgical practice does that we are just nameless, faceless cattle. As an example, my doctor thought when I went in for my post-op visit that I was there for my pre-op visit. Partially, this is the medical practice anymore, but specifically it is true in this type practice. No wonder you or any of us feel like we are "boiling." Anyone does when they feel they have no power in a situation and that is certainly where you are right now -- no power to effect a change in the situation, no power to effect a change in her and the way she does things, and no power to change the way the doctors do things as you and the rest of us are just one of MANY who will put up with most anything to get the surgery. And, let's not even talk about the insurance companies . . . . .

My thoughts are with you and I certainly hope things work out for a quick, positive resolution to this situation. Keep us all posted.

I have nothing but compassion for you. What and ordeal! As the poster said above, maybe turning it around and trying to get her to work with you would be a good idea. Obviously the situation sucks. I cannot imagine dealing with it. My situation went so smoothly. From start to finish ( Going into the informational seminar to the surgery) was 3 months. I was extremely lucky, not a lot of people have such a smooth process. ( I guess I feel God was telling me this is what I needed to do) In that respect, if you are a religious woman, than maybe God is holding you back for some reason. But I wouldn't take it as a sign to quit, just resolve yourself to be stronger and push ahead. I will say this though, and please take it in the intent it is being said. ( as positive encouragement) Stress will happen in your life. It will not go away after surgery and weight loss. If you are a stress eater then now is the time to work on it. You have a goal, to meet the weigh in requirement to be approved for surgery. Don't allow stress eating to derail that goal. After surgery it can derail your weight loss efforts and even be risky for you. ( if you do it early in the healing process) Take a deep breath, regroup, count to ten, take a bubble bath or do some yoga....whatever it takes to get centered. Remember where you want to be and continue working to get there. Once it is done you will be so happy you did, and this moment in time will just be a blip on the radar overall. Best of luck to you!!!

Maybe she's been taking trips out here(Denver, CO) to the "Weed Barn"?

Thanks guys, you all make valid points. I never let the Nut know how upset/confused I was because I know when u have to work with someone, you want it to be amicable. I just was so infuriated at her responses. But yes, I am being calm...thank goodness for Bariatricpal.com, I feel like my close friends and family are like, big deal, calm down but I have events coming up, weddings and birthday parties and my job is preparing and I have a very small window to make this happen.

I thank u all, you're right! I will just stick in there and continue to monitor her before I report her..after my approval of coarse...lol.

Maybe she's been taking trips out here(Denver, CO) to the "Weed Barn"?

My husband says she looks like she had to many Acid hits in her day...smh but it was true...a real space cadet!!

Though I felt 100% confidence in my surgeon, his support staff danced all over my last nerve. They were slow and unresponsive. We got through it and I'm on the other side of surgery and all that frustration is just a memory.

Though I felt 100% confidence in my surgeon, his support staff danced all over my last nerve. They were slow and unresponsive. We got through it and I'm on the other side of surgery and all that frustration is just a memory.

Now there's big advantage of the sleeve over the band. Of course, there can be setbacks or issues with the sleeve but it's rare(I'm told) and with the band, it's required. Many banders have failed due to lousy and incompetent aftercare.

oops, sorry, off topic

Wow....just wow. How unprofessional. Had my surgery in Baltimore, Md and had a wonderful doctor with wonderful, organized support. Hope things get better!

Keep your head in the game. Appease her every whim and whilst doing so, document EVERYTHING she has or hasn't done, has or hasn't said and the times and dates she did or didn't do them. The full nine yards.

As soon as you get what you need, you write a deposition to the complaints department. In fact, I would go so far as to assert that if there are more people less 'together' than you, charged to be under her care, that you personally fear for their safety as she's clearly not fit for purpose (I would mention that she appears high) and grossly unprofessional.

You had me at 'shoulda paid your phone bill'. I'dve hit the freakin' roof at that.

But as has been stated. Hold your counsel until such time as you can let rip.

My sympathies are with you.

I can totally relate to your frustration with the situation. When I was going through the pre-op process I hit a road block that was to this day one I am not sure I did the right thing about. I had seen my PCP to get the referral to a contracted surgeon (the usual step one). I called the surgeons office and was told I had to go to a seminar before they would set the intake appointment. The seminars were held once a month so I scheduled for the next open date (which was 2 months from the phone call). After the seminar I made the intake appointment (another month wait). The labs, consults and testing took another 3 months to complete. When I had my surgery date, 9 months had gone by and I figured, not too bad of a wait to get the surgery. Then I went to the surgeons office for the pre-op "physical" and was told my insurance wasn't covering the procedure at 80 % but only 65% and they required my portion be paid before they would confirm the surgery date. I made several calls to my insurance and the long & short of the phone tag was that the surgeons office did not complete some paperwork on their end and lost the preferred provider status. I was told I could "restart the process" with a new surgeon or continue with the current provider but have to pay the non-contracted provider rate.

I wanted the surgery to be done and over with so I paid the non-contracted provider rate. Just before the surgery, the surgeon requested to be allowed to perform a new procedure called the spider technique and he would take out my gallbladder while he was doing the sleeve (I had gallstones and knew the weight loss would most likely cause a flair up) After hearing about the spider technique (one incision) and that he would remove the gallbladder through the same incision I agreed to let him do the procedure (I was to be his first "live" patient for this technique and the first he did 2 surgeries in one per the doc). Now the one thing I didn't think about was the fact that he was now a non-contracted provider. Also I did not get a prior auth for the gallbladder surgery. SOOOO...... After the surgery I got the bill for his services (and his assistant) My insurance didn't cover the gallbladder procedure and I was stuck with an extra 7000.00 expense. I am still fighting with his office about the non-contacted status and that I should not have to pay this bill since they didn't fill out a form and they didn't get the prior auth with the insurance before the surgery (how was I supposed to know all the medical billing stuff) I thought he made a deal to take out the gall bladder if I let him perform the surgery with this new technique. Guess I was wrong.

Let go of that stress you have been through, you cannot change stupid. Buy her some goofy, flowery little card and say "thank you soooooooooo much for your help and support, you have made this process so much better for me....blah, blah, blah!" LOL. Then smile

Though I felt 100% confidence in my surgeon, his support staff danced all over my last nerve. They were slow and unresponsive. We got through it and I'm on the other side of surgery and all that frustration is just a memory.

Thanks, this made me smile...literally! All I have now is anticipation...

Edited March 20, 201412 yr by MsKeeKee01

Let go of that stress you have been through, you cannot change stupid. Buy her some goofy, flowery little card and say "thank you soooooooooo much for your help and support, you have made this process so much better for me....blah, blah, blah!" LOL. Then smile

Love it! lol

I can totally relate to your frustration with the situation. When I was going through the pre-op process I hit a road block that was to this day one I am not sure I did the right thing about. I had seen my PCP to get the referral to a contracted surgeon (the usual step one). I called the surgeons office and was told I had to go to a seminar before they would set the intake appointment. The seminars were held once a month so I scheduled for the next open date (which was 2 months from the phone call). After the seminar I made the intake appointment (another month wait). The labs, consults and testing took another 3 months to complete. When I had my surgery date, 9 months had gone by and I figured, not too bad of a wait to get the surgery. Then I went to the surgeons office for the pre-op "physical" and was told my insurance wasn't covering the procedure at 80 % but only 65% and they required my portion be paid before they would confirm the surgery date. I made several calls to my insurance and the long & short of the phone tag was that the surgeons office did not complete some paperwork on their end and lost the preferred provider status. I was told I could "restart the process" with a new surgeon or continue with the current provider but have to pay the non-contracted provider rate.

I wanted the surgery to be done and over with so I paid the non-contracted provider rate. Just before the surgery, the surgeon requested to be allowed to perform a new procedure called the spider technique and he would take out my gallbladder while he was doing the sleeve (I had gallstones and knew the weight loss would most likely cause a flair up) After hearing about the spider technique (one incision) and that he would remove the gallbladder through the same incision I agreed to let him do the procedure (I was to be his first "live" patient for this technique and the first he did 2 surgeries in one per the doc). Now the one thing I didn't think about was the fact that he was now a non-contracted provider. Also I did not get a prior auth for the gallbladder surgery. SOOOO...... After the surgery I got the bill for his services (and his assistant) My insurance didn't cover the gallbladder procedure and I was stuck with an extra 7000.00 expense. I am still fighting with his office about the non-contacted status and that I should not have to pay this bill since they didn't fill out a form and they didn't get the prior auth with the insurance before the surgery (how was I supposed to know all the medical billing stuff) I thought he made a deal to take out the gall bladder if I let him perform the surgery with this new technique. Guess I was wrong.

Im surprised anyone is arguing this with you. I am a Utilization Review Manager and Certified Medical Insurance Specialist and I can tell you now that if you did not get an authorization or you did not fill out any paperwork for that procedure, you CANNOT be billed for that. In private offices, they do things unconventionally and if you don't seek a lawyer or some type of professional, they will try to make you believe you have to pay because you don't know any better. Please seek counsel, this case is legally considered abuse, not fraud and if you don't know the difference "legally" you have no chance. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO PAY!! Ok...free advice for the day..lol, have a good day!!