If you have Fed Blue, if you login to your account and send an email via the website, they will email you the approval letter!! If you're impatient like me, I know this is a big deal! Good luck, everyone!

Hi,

So did you doctor already approve you? I have Fed Blue as well and currently in nutrition courses and waiting to get an approval letter, or simply when I'll get one. Also what does impatient mean? (Sorry if my questions are coherent, a newbie at this) Thanks in advance for your response!

Stacy

Hi Stacy,

Yes, my doctor doesn't submit the paperwork for approval until everything on the checklist is done. They were waiting for the approval letter from Fed Blue to give me a surgery date. Impatient means I didn't want to wait. Fed Blue snail mails their approval letters, but if you email them through the website they'll upload it there so you can download it. Just a tip, if your doctor submits the paperwork on any day other than Monday, Fed Blue only uploads paperwork into their system on Mondays.

My paperwork was sent in on the 27th, put into the Fed Blue system on 4/2 and then a decision was made on 4/3. So they were pretty quick once they had the paperwork uploaded in the system.

Good luck!!

Felicia

Thank you Felicia! Good luck to you as well!!! LOL! I assumed 'impatient' as in in the hospital! Had a brain freeze, instead of reading impatient, I was reading inpatient... lol

Edited April 12, 20188 yr by MissPriss81

I'm also a fed and I have GEHA. Any idea on total out-of-pocket costs for BCBS Federal? My out-of-pocket costs are adding up quickly, and I'm still a few months away from surgery. For example:

- Initial surgeon consult co-pay: $30

- Dietitian/nutritionist pre-op visits (not covered): $350

- Psychologist eval (not covered because annual ded not met): $360

- 6 post-op dietitian visits: $350

- primary doctor pre-op clearance, ekg, and other testing: $?

- final pre-op appointment w/surgeon or his PA: $30

- 4 post-op visits w/surgeon or PA: $120

- surgery/hospital/anesthesia costs: 15% of ~31,000 or $4600

Total cost to me: $6000 or so.

This seems somewhat shockingly high now that I've added it all up, and I'm not even sure my list is complete. How does BCBS Federal compare?

1 hour ago, gr8ful1 said:

I'm also a fed and I have GEHA. Any idea on total out-of-pocket costs for BCBS Federal? My out-of-pocket costs are adding up quickly, and I'm still a few months away from surgery. For example:

- Initial surgeon consult co-pay: $30

- Dietitian/nutritionist pre-op visits (not covered): $350

- Psychologist eval (not covered because annual ded not met): $360

- 6 post-op dietitian visits: $350

- primary doctor pre-op clearance, ekg, and other testing: $?

- final pre-op appointment w/surgeon or his PA: $30

- 4 post-op visits w/surgeon or PA: $120

- surgery/hospital/anesthesia costs: 15% of ~31,000 or $4600

Total cost to me: $6000 or so.

This seems somewhat shockingly high now that I've added it all up, and I'm not even sure my list is complete. How does BCBS Federal compare?

Wowww. I'm so sorry you're costs are so high. I have BCBS Federal I have not paid ANYTHING out of pocket except $35 co-pay for psych evaluation. I'm on on my second nutrition session and completed everything else. Sleep, EDG, Ultrasound, Barium Swallow, et c and haven't paid anything. I will have to pay $350 for hospital stay and that's it. My friend had a different BCBS, not federal and paid $2800 out of pocket.

What plan is GEHA with? I don't know any federal employee that has something other than Fed BCBS.

With Fed BCBS, all I've paid is co-pays

Psyc Eval $40

Diet I did through my Primary Care Dr. 4 visits at $30 = $120

Surgeon Initial Eval $40

Cardiologist Clearance $40

Swallow Test $0

Total $240

Then for the surgery, Fed BCBS covers everything except a $100 Dr. Fee and then $175 per night hospital stay, and IF I'm in the hospital more than 5 days insurance pays 100% of the hospital stay.

16 hours ago, ByeFelicia said:

What plan is GEHA with? I don't know any federal employee that has something other than Fed BCBS.

With Fed BCBS, all I've paid is co-pays

Psyc Eval $40

Diet I did through my Primary Care Dr. 4 visits at $30 = $120

Surgeon Initial Eval $40

Cardiologist Clearance $40

Swallow Test $0

Total $240

Then for the surgery, Fed BCBS covers everything except a $100 Dr. Fee and then $175 per night hospital stay, and IF I'm in the hospital more than 5 days insurance pays 100% of the hospital stay.

I think GEHA is available in all states. There is GEHA Standard and GEHA High. I think this is similar to BCBS. The premiums are much lower than BCBS, and my co-pays for primary care are just $15 ($30 for specialists). $10 prescriptions. Great cheap insurance if you just have routine doctor visits and prescriptions. Not so great if you need to have surgery, apparently. I could switch to BCBS in open season, but I don't want to wait until next year.

i have care first blue shield which is a fed blue in maryland and the only out of pocket stuff i will pay is copays so for everything it will cost around 600 total that is it