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Hi there everyone,

I'm continuing to explore my Chiari treatment options here in Canada

but I still think my best bet is to go to TCI (The Chairi Institute)

for an evaluation.

I'm wondering if any Canadians have traveled to TCI and if so did you

have any luck getting Medicare to pay for it, and if not what was the

cost for the 2-day consultation and/or surgery.

Or did you find any helpful " experts " here in Canada?

Any insight from Canadians and non-Canadians alike would be wonderful!

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  • 2 months later...
Guest guest

Lenni wrote:

For those of you who have been to TCI, how do you get there?  I mean how do

you get there from a " paper work " point of view? 

Kathleen's response:

My chiari problems started in 1990, I had surgery but continued to have

rotten symptoms. I was told headaches were migraines and we treated them

unsuccessfully for 7 years, they and other symptoms became so bad by 1997 I

asked for another opinion.

I have a great PCP that encouraged me and helped me get approval. I also had

a neurologist that asked local neurosurgeons where I should go, and they

recommended Dr. Milhorat. (pre TCI)

The paper work was endless, I've received approval for surgeries, but every

time I'd need another surgery I had to start the process all over again.

My PCP finally gathered all op reports and shipped them to Aetna and I'm

approved for all future office visits and surgery if need be.

Our web page has a section with insurance appeal hints, things that helped

me along the way:

http://www.chiariconnectioninternational.com/question1.php#6

If you need help, please let me know and I'll do what I can.

Kathleen

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For some reason my response to Lenni's question did not display, so I am sending

this again.

H

> On Wed, 7/30/08, Lenni Elhajj

> Question from Lenni

> For those of you who have been to TCI, how do you get

> there?  I mean how do you get there from a " paper

> work " point of view?  Are there doctors who recommend

> people there?  How do you get insurance to pay for it?  I

> was just wondering how one gets there for I would like to

> go, if at all possible. 

> Thanks,

> Lenni (in PA.)

>

My response to Lenni

> From H

> One part of your question depends on your own insurance.

> On my insurance I do not have to have a referral to see a

> specialist, so I just called and made an appointment.

> However, some insurance requires a referral from your PCP to

> see a specialist.

>

> The other is you need to find out the current process at

> TCI. You should call and ask what they need from you or

> your doctors to make an appointment. There might be tests

> that you can do locally or in NY. They might ask for

> previous reports, etc. I don't know their current

> process.

>

> Also, if you call, be patient and helpful. They are very

> busy and sometimes call-backs don't happen quickly.

>

> I already had a solid Chiari diagnosis from my neurologist

> and MRI's that showed it. TCI was one of 4 doctors I

> had on a list to consult. The first one on the list, local

> to me, was not satisfactory. The second was a surgical study

> at NIH, also local to me, but they did not take anyone with

> a herniation less than 5 (or something) and I would have had

> to also have a syrinx, which I did not have. Third on my

> list was TCI, 4th was another Chiari spcecialist

> neurosurgeon not local to me. But, the tests and

> interpretations were right up my alley, rang true, and I was

> covered insurance-ably -- is that a word?

>

> BTW, what appeared to be a 5 herniation for was really 8

> and more when they got in my head and saw the whole thing.

> This is not uncommon, for the visual slice of the MRI to not

> be showing the whole story. (I always forget, cm or mm.)

>

> HT

> decompressed 2002

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Guest guest

Hello:

Go to TCI's website and you can print off the forms. chiariinstitute.com.

I have a PPO, so I did not need a referral. They are not in any network, so

whatever you have may not pay the bill in full.

Once you fill out all the forms, you will want to send them all your films too.

Send them overnight, marked Urgent. Make sure your name and date of birth

are all over everything.

Once they get everything, it can take 2-4 weeks for someone to call you to set

up an appt. I would call them to make sure they have everything.

I think they are setting appts as far ahead as November now. So you need to move

fast to get the ball rolling.

Good luck!

Wendi in PA

ACM 7.5mm B4 surgery 2.4mm post op

TC

TCS @ TCI on 1/3/08

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