i was having so many issues in regards to this surgery. that i ended uo going to southern california for my surgery. i drove 6 hours from my house to have the procedure done. i went to see him on friday and he said i could have the surgery monday if i could get all the test done in time but i had to get my kids situated so i had it a week later. the doc's set up all my appts. and i saw the heart surgeon and did the sonagram in one day . the i did the psych and bloodwork in one day and they all came back good except for the gallstones. my doctor said it was my choice to have the gallstones taken out first by my primary or he can do the GBS now and worry about the gallstones on my own and that's what i did. all this was done with medicare in one week (seriously).You may need to switch doctors if your doc is not giving you what you need in a timely matter. i hope this helps. good luck with whatever you do!

Insurance companies, including Medicare, have certain requirements before they will cover WLS. For example, no insurance company is going to pay for someone who wants "an easy way to lose those pesky 20 lbs I've gained since high school." There has to be a true medical need.

Doctors also have certain requirements before they will perform WLS. For example, a doctor is not going to perform WLS on someone whose health is too fragile to survive the surgery (my significant other is a prime example).

Hope this helps!

when I went to the seminar, I filled out a questionnaire asking what my obesity co-morbidities were with the understanding I would be contacted shortly thereafter by the drs office. They also asked for my insurance status. I had to make the call myself, and they acted as if they hadn't heard of me. I may just be feeling a little paranoid because of past experience.

As lasandra said, if you're not comfortable with this doctor or his/her practice, there are others out there. I'm also from WA so I know a little about which places take Medicare patients. Email me privately if you want to.