I live in Laurel Maryland and am insured under Keiser HMO. I'm looking for a lapband Dr. covered under the Keiser HMO insurnace plan...any recommendations are welcom. I had been under CareFirst but the Metro Transit authority health and welfare pland did not include Lapband surgery. We switched to Keiser during open season because they cover the surgery. Now have a had time finding a doctor.

I have two insurances, Aetna PPO and Kaiser through my husband and with Kaiser you always have to go through your Primary Care Physician first (except Dermatology and OB/GYN) and get a referral and there is no getting around it. Strap on your seatbelt and be patient because it is a long ride with them.

Thank you, I know I have to go through the PCP process, just wanted to start checking out the drs that do the actual surgery. Is there some type of listing?

Contact Customer Care line and they will tell you who does the surgeries in your area. Kaiser really does not let you choose and they centralize everyone into one location in your area. Did you try going to www.kp.org? There you can view the available services and doctors in your area and find more information about the bariatric program.

My close friend, and she is also a nurse for Kaiser, is using them for her Lap Band and it is a long process. She first had to get some lab work done and an EKG before her doctor would even refer her. While she was waiting on that she did attend the seminar for bariatric surgery with Kaiser, you can attend that without a referral it think and there you will be able to get all the information you need. After all she told me it sounds like she will not be able to have her surgery until next spring with all the classes she needs to attend and the waiting list. I also have Aetna and I went that route for my surgery instead of Kaiser.

Good luck, start with the seminar at Kaiser first and write down all of your questions to ask when you are there. Keep me posted please.

Thank you so much I will keep you posted. I'm so upset because I've been doing what I needed to do for SIX months!!!!! on another note, how are you doing with the band? What is your opinion?

My surgery is this Thursday, I have not had mine yet. My surgeon does not require a pre op diet and Aetna only required a 6 month attempt in the last two years with a doctor. I did lose about 25 lbs on a doctor supervised diet but that was it.

Unlike most on here, I am not nervous at all about my surgery and I am quite excited about it. I am fully aware that this journey will not be easy and it is not a "fix-all" but it is a wonderful tool to help me get my health back.

I will let you know how my surgery goes sometime this weekend and I hope you can join me soon :confused_smile:

Good for you!!! Please do stay in touch and let me know how it goes. I'm not afraid either, I know this is what I need to do. Over the past 6 months that I've been under my dr supervision I've lost 30 lbs. My biggest fear as always is gaining it back. I see you had two appeals, is the appeal process long? I'm afraid with the weight that I've lost they will say my BMI is no longer over 40. I have other health issues that I hope will play in my favor, Fibromyalgea, borderline diabeties (runs in my family), I've already had 1 knee replacement and I have lower back pain/problems. I have my appt with Keiser PCP on 7/21.