Guest guest Posted May 16, 2001 Report Share Posted May 16, 2001 I live in Toledo, Ohio and need the surgery (5'9, 495pds) and cannot seem to find anyone who is willing to work with me. They say because I have medicare, it won't pay, never has, and pretty much such the door on me. They also say CASH will NOT do. Because of the possibility of subsequent visits to the hospital, they need to know insurance is there to handle the bill. I called a surgeon in Bowling Green, Dr, Hess and his secretary would not even let me attend the free seminar without know I had insurance to pay for the surgery. Anyone else know of any doctors in my area that does this surgery? Thanks, Mark Ferrante Farouk@... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 16, 2001 Report Share Posted May 16, 2001 Hi Mark; I am confused by your statement that Medicare won't pay. They are about the best of all at paying! When I had my initial consult with Dr. Welker, as soon as he heard that Medicare is my primary, he said, " Excellent! At least we don't need to wait for pre-approvial " In fact, Medicare pays within 3 days. Are you sure it isn't a case where the surgeon you went to will not accept Medicare? That happens unfortunately. Some doc's say they can't afford to accept Medicare because the reimbursement is so low. However, that's a little silly because Medicare reimburses something like $500 less than major insurers do. The fact of the matter is that doctors are CLEARLY not getting reimbursed what they are worth but to take it out on the patients, I think is unethical. Further, if you have a doctor giving you 'misinformation' regarding your insurance, I would question whether he's being straight forward on other issues as well. If you want to pose any further questions on one of the insurance lists, we will try our best to get you squared away and pointed in the right direction. Having Medicare might rule out a few surgeons but it doesn't mean you are out of luck. Good luck; I 'm routing for you! gobo 309/305/125 BMI 56 > I live in Toledo, Ohio and need the surgery (5'9, 495pds) and cannot seem to > find anyone who is willing to work with me. They say because I have medicare, > it won't pay, never has, and pretty much such the door on me. They also say > CASH will NOT do. Because of the possibility of subsequent visits to the > hospital, they need to know insurance is there to handle the bill. I called a > surgeon in Bowling Green, Dr, Hess and his secretary would not even let me > attend the free seminar without know I had insurance to pay for the surgery. > > Anyone else know of any doctors in my area that does this surgery? > Thanks, > Mark Ferrante > Farouk@a... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted May 16, 2001 Report Share Posted May 16, 2001 Hi Mark; I am confused by your statement that Medicare won't pay. They are about the best of all at paying! When I had my initial consult with Dr. Welker, as soon as he heard that Medicare is my primary, he said, " Excellent! At least we don't need to wait for pre-approvial " In fact, Medicare pays within 3 days. Are you sure it isn't a case where the surgeon you went to will not accept Medicare? That happens unfortunately. Some doc's say they can't afford to accept Medicare because the reimbursement is so low. However, that's a little silly because Medicare reimburses something like $500 less than major insurers do. The fact of the matter is that doctors are CLEARLY not getting reimbursed what they are worth but to take it out on the patients, I think is unethical. Further, if you have a doctor giving you 'misinformation' regarding your insurance, I would question whether he's being straight forward on other issues as well. If you want to pose any further questions on one of the insurance lists, we will try our best to get you squared away and pointed in the right direction. Having Medicare might rule out a few surgeons but it doesn't mean you are out of luck. Good luck; I 'm routing for you! gobo 309/305/125 BMI 56 > I live in Toledo, Ohio and need the surgery (5'9, 495pds) and cannot seem to > find anyone who is willing to work with me. They say because I have medicare, > it won't pay, never has, and pretty much such the door on me. They also say > CASH will NOT do. Because of the possibility of subsequent visits to the > hospital, they need to know insurance is there to handle the bill. I called a > surgeon in Bowling Green, Dr, Hess and his secretary would not even let me > attend the free seminar without know I had insurance to pay for the surgery. > > Anyone else know of any doctors in my area that does this surgery? > Thanks, > Mark Ferrante > Farouk@a... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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