Surgery cost

Bshygirl

New Member
Joined
Sep 13, 2018
Messages
3
:D Hello There,

My name is Brittany at 32 yrs of age with a very unhealthy weight. I met with Dr. Rabkin yesterday September,12th 2018. He is a very kind man who makes you feel comfortable making the decision about having surgery. I really want to have the Vertical Sleeve procedure but my insurance with Medi-cal Anthem Blue Cross doesn't help cover any cost, which makes going forward hard.. I would love to find a way to get my insurance to help pay, if not at least half of the cost for surgery. If anyone has or knows how to help me I would really appreciate you.

Thank you very much for hearing me out. looking forward to hearing back from you

Thank you again Brittany:p
 
Hi Brittany! I would encourage you to do a lot of reading here! There is nothing wrong with the sleeve but it is just another diet with a smaller stomach. Do diets work well for you? Most people need more to keep the weight off. My logic has always been think twice and cut once. So I hope you have considered other options as well. Dr. Rabkin is a great choice. There are others here who are insurance experts and they will be along shortly.
 
Thank you Munchkin:) I am very interested in the DS but doing selfpay makes it harder for me and will postpone surgery for a few yrs down the road or until I can afford better health care coverage :cry: I love hearing and reading about DS stories. A close friend of mine referred me to Dr.Rabkin and he is in-love with his new self an I think he looks amazing, I really do hope there is help for me because a student loan on top of a creditcare loan with 27% interesto_O, I'll never be able to really live my life in a way I hope to do after surgery.

Thank you!
 
Bshygirl - Great meeting you last night.

Tagging DianaCox and Larra can help you with your insurance questions. They should be able to talk to you about what you need to get done to help you qualify for the DS with your current insurance.

Don't be shy here. DianaCox and Larra are powerful women who can help you get your insurance to pay. Seriously, they can help guide you.

Good luck!
 
Hi and welcome Bshygirl ! Dr. Rabkin is an excellent surgeon. Best wishes for insurance coverage. A wait is definitely worth it if it means you will only have to go under the knife once. Revisions are tough. Be sure to get the best procedure you possibly can.
 
DianaCox OP has not really started the process yet. I thought you could help her get through quickly. Let the OP share where she is.
 
galaxygrrl - I understand, but she said “my insurance with Medi-cal Anthem Blue Cross doesn't help cover any cost,” which if correct, means she won’t be getting any procedure with Rabkin or anyone else. Open enrollment starts for many people in the October-November window, so this would be a good time to look at her options for starting in January. I don’t know what her options are, but Rabkin doesn’t take any insurance as payment in full (he balance bills), EXCEPT that if she wants a DS and has NorCal Kaiser, AND her plan doesn’t exclude it, Kaiser will pay for it.
 
Thank you. I will definitely find out if my plan excludes Kaiser or not. Also keep an eye out for open enrollment.

Thank you again
 
Dr. Esquerra in Mexico is always a good self pay option as well! Several of us here (myself, galaxygrrl, etc) can attest to that route).

You didn’t mention your weight or BMI but I believe said it was unhealthy. If your bmi is high, please, really think long and hard on whether a sleeve will be enough.

Welcome!
 
With Kaiser if your bmi is below 50 they will not pay for a DS without a big fight through internal appeals (which will fail) and from there to external appeals through the DMHC. Not all external appeals are successful. If you have other options, you would probably have a better chance of getting a DS with Dr. Rabkin or perhaps with Dr. Keshishian, depending on where you are. So look carefully at all your options.
OTOH, if you do want just a sleeve, you could go through the Kaiser process and get a sleeve with them, but they won't send you to Dr. Rabkin. That doesn't mean you wouldn't get good care. But I do agree with Munchkin that the sleeve is a diet with a smaller stomach, and we see new people all the time wanting to revise from sleeve to DS.
 

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