Guest guest Posted November 19, 2001 Report Share Posted November 19, 2001 Dee, You're very blessed to have such a supportive and loving mother. Another avenue to pursue before considering a mortgage on the house would be to appeal the decision of Pacific Care to cover only the RNY. From what I understand there is a lawyer in California that has had some success in this area. You can check out the website at Obesitylaw.com. Good luck and keep us posted on your progress. ann Unconditional Support I've been on many many diets over the past 25+ years. I've tried just about everything - honestly, I can't think of a diet that I haven't tried! And my Mom has been there, supporting me even when she doubted I would be successful. Keep in mind she never told me I would fail but, as years went on, her " good luck to you! " would sound less convincing. Anyway, she knows about the DS and the RNY because I've told her about the differences. She knows that Pacific(won't)Care will only pay for the RNY. And she knows I'm fighting them, literally for my life. Yesterday, she called and said she watched the " " show last week. There were two women on the show who had WLS and had lost 200 pounds each. I asked Mom which surgery they'd had and she didn't know. So I asked her if they said they could eat whatever they want and she said yes. That means they had the DS (unless they had the RNY and are either an exception or they're fibbing! LOL). Mom asked how much I would have to pay if Pacific(doesn't)Care doesn't pay for the DS. I told her about the surgeon fees and said the biggest expense is the hospital costs which I don't know. She said if all else fails, she'll get another mortgage on the house!!! OMG! This is so wonderful except I really hope it doesn't come to this. She just retired and has emphysema (sp?). I would make the mortgage payment into her account but I don't want to cause her any financial stress, if you know what I mean. The most important thing is that I really feel that she supports me in this unconditionally. And this is from a woman who doesn't express emotion very well. I'm so grateful to her for the offer. I think she knows the DS is my last chance at a normal life. BTW, for anyone who had the surgery at the Calif. Pac. Medical Center - how much are the hospital costs? dee __________________________________________________ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2001 Report Share Posted November 19, 2001 Dee, That is so wondeful for you Mom to offer. I, too, hope it doesn't come to that, but it is nice to know you have such support! BTW, the women on the show had the RNY. They were identical twins. It was a show about " changes " and they were only on for about two minutes to show the show-provided makeup and fashion makeovers. There was another woman there who had the RNY who surprised her cousin (I think) who had not seen her since before the surgery and didn't know she'd lost weight. There wasn't much talk about side-effects or eating post-op, but they looked very happy. -- K pre-op Rabkin Jan 28, 2002 YM: mariak415 ICQ: 129363427 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2001 Report Share Posted November 19, 2001 Hi Dee, You are blessed to have such a generous mother. My mother, too, helped me to pay Dr. Rabkin's fee. Fortunately, insurance paid for the hospital. I do know that CPMC charges $18,000 upfront for self-pay. KathleenF Open DGB/DS Dr. Rabkin/Dr. Jossart 01/02/01: 374# 11/19/01: 233# http://www.webniche.com/wls ...snip.. > Mom asked how much I would have to pay if > Pacific(doesn't)Care doesn't pay for the DS. I told > her about the surgeon fees and said the biggest > expense is the hospital costs which I don't know. She > said if all else fails, she'll get another mortgage on > the house!!! OMG! > ...snip.. > > The most important thing is that I really feel that > she supports me in this unconditionally. And this is > from a woman who doesn't express emotion very well. > I'm so grateful to her for the offer. I think she > knows the DS is my last chance at a normal life. > > BTW, for anyone who had the surgery at the Calif. Pac. > Medical Center - how much are the hospital costs? > > dee > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2001 Report Share Posted November 19, 2001 Wow...that's amazing. What a mom!! If you had to go the self-pay route, would you consider Spain? ~alyssa Unconditional Support > Mom asked how much I would have to pay if > Pacific(doesn't)Care doesn't pay for the DS. I told > her about the surgeon fees and said the biggest > expense is the hospital costs which I don't know. She > said if all else fails, she'll get another mortgage on > the house!!! OMG! > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2001 Report Share Posted November 19, 2001 Have you though about asking the insurance if the would pay the amt for the RNY, and you pay the overage? If it sets you back more than 15K, consider Spain or Brazil. I had mine done in Spain, and the doc in Brazil has done over 600 WLS. I was well taken care of, and it sounds like you would be in Brazil too---there are options!!! Pammi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2001 Report Share Posted November 19, 2001 At 7:18 PM +0000 11/19/01, psbilyeu@... wrote: >Have you though about asking the insurance if the would pay the amt >for the RNY, and you pay the overage? If it sets you back more than >15K, consider Spain or Brazil. OR . . . If they will pay for the hospital, then you might consider paying the surgeon. Just another alternative. But, don't give them that " out " until after you have exhausted the appeals process. --Steve -- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2001 Report Share Posted November 19, 2001 That's a great idea, Pammi, I think I'll find out if Pacific(butthole)Care is willing to split the difference. Unfortunately, I cannot travel, though so I'm stuck here. Thanks, dee --- psbilyeu@... wrote: > Have you though about asking the insurance if the > would pay the amt > for the RNY, and you pay the overage? If it sets > you back more than > 15K, consider Spain or Brazil. > > I had mine done in Spain, and the doc in Brazil has > done over 600 > WLS. I was well taken care of, and it sounds like > you would be in > Brazil too---there are options!!! > > Pammi > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2001 Report Share Posted November 19, 2001 That's a very good idea, Steve. Thank you! dee --- Steve Goldstein wrote: > At 7:18 PM +0000 11/19/01, psbilyeu@... wrote: > >Have you though about asking the insurance if the > would pay the amt > >for the RNY, and you pay the overage? If it sets > you back more than > >15K, consider Spain or Brazil. > > > OR . . . If they will pay for the hospital, then > you might consider > paying the surgeon. Just another alternative. But, > don't give them > that " out " until after you have exhausted the > appeals process. > > --Steve > -- > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2001 Report Share Posted November 19, 2001 Dee, I am fighting for insurance coverage for DS. There's good info at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DS-Insurance_Authorization_Problems Hull's posts are awesome, as is his appeal letter. My " plan B " if I must self pay eventually... will be Brazil. Check it out http://groups.yahoo.com/group/DrMarchesini-DuodenalSwitch It sounds great so far. I added some bookmarks which show how the city looks etc. The cost is so much better!! Let's hope our insurance companies come through, but I thought you might be interested, his fee is VERY reasonable and his experience/education is awesome. Wanda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2001 Report Share Posted November 19, 2001 Thanks for the info, ann. I'm really hoping it doesn't come down to it! dee --- ann Prinz wrote: > Dee, > > You're very blessed to have such a supportive and > loving mother. Another > avenue to pursue before considering a mortgage on > the house would be to > appeal the decision of Pacific Care to cover only > the RNY. From what I > understand there is a lawyer in California that has > had some success in this > area. You can check out the website at > Obesitylaw.com. > > Good luck and keep us posted on your progress. > > ann > > > Unconditional Support > > I've been on many many diets over the past 25+ > years. > I've tried just about everything - honestly, I can't > think of a diet that I haven't tried! And my Mom > has > been there, supporting me even when she doubted I > would be successful. Keep in mind she never told me > I > would fail but, as years went on, her " good luck to > you! " would sound less convincing. > > Anyway, she knows about the DS and the RNY because > I've told her about the differences. She knows that > Pacific(won't)Care will only pay for the RNY. And > she > knows I'm fighting them, literally for my life. > > Yesterday, she called and said she watched the > " > " show last week. There were two women on the > show who had WLS and had lost 200 pounds each. I > asked Mom which surgery they'd had and she didn't > know. So I asked her if they said they could eat > whatever they want and she said yes. That means > they > had the DS (unless they had the RNY and are either > an > exception or they're fibbing! LOL). > > Mom asked how much I would have to pay if > Pacific(doesn't)Care doesn't pay for the DS. I told > her about the surgeon fees and said the biggest > expense is the hospital costs which I don't know. > She > said if all else fails, she'll get another mortgage > on > the house!!! OMG! > > This is so wonderful except I really hope it doesn't > come to this. She just retired and has emphysema > (sp?). I would make the mortgage payment into her > account but I don't want to cause her any financial > stress, if you know what I mean. > > The most important thing is that I really feel that > she supports me in this unconditionally. And this > is > from a woman who doesn't express emotion very well. > I'm so grateful to her for the offer. I think she > knows the DS is my last chance at a normal life. > > BTW, for anyone who had the surgery at the Calif. > Pac. > Medical Center - how much are the hospital costs? > > dee > > __________________________________________________ > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted November 19, 2001 Report Share Posted November 19, 2001 Kathleen, I don't remember if I responded to this but I wanted to make sure I thanked you for the info! dee --- kathy@... wrote: > Hi Dee, > You are blessed to have such a generous mother. My > mother, too, helped > me to pay Dr. Rabkin's fee. Fortunately, insurance > paid for the > hospital. I do know that CPMC charges $18,000 > upfront for self-pay. > > KathleenF > Open DGB/DS > Dr. Rabkin/Dr. Jossart > 01/02/01: 374# > 11/19/01: 233# > http://www.webniche.com/wls > > > ..snip.. > > Mom asked how much I would have to pay if > > Pacific(doesn't)Care doesn't pay for the DS. I > told > > her about the surgeon fees and said the biggest > > expense is the hospital costs which I don't know. > She > > said if all else fails, she'll get another > mortgage on > > the house!!! OMG! > > > ..snip.. > > > > The most important thing is that I really feel > that > > she supports me in this unconditionally. And this > is > > from a woman who doesn't express emotion very > well. > > I'm so grateful to her for the offer. I think she > > knows the DS is my last chance at a normal life. > > > > BTW, for anyone who had the surgery at the Calif. > Pac. > > Medical Center - how much are the hospital costs? > > > > dee > > > > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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