May through Mid-August 2011
To actually have bariatric surgery, the surgeons at RMAP and the insurance company required me to jump through several hoops. May through August was filled with insurance, surgeon, and hospital related paperwork. In addition to the paperwork, I had to meet with a dietitian, my surgeon, and a psychologist.
I guess they wanted me to visit a psychologist to make sure that I was competent enough to understand what I was getting into.
The meeting with the psychologist cost $400. The insurance covered $370.
I was escorted into a small office with a desk and was given a number 2 pencil and a couple of tests where I answer the questions by filling in the bubble. The questions were great! I was asked true or false statements such as, "I flew across the Atlantic 36 times last year," and "I was on the cover of several magazines this month." Of course, I answered 'true' to all of these questions. After taking the tests, I met with the psychologist for about 5 milliseconds. With his back to me, typing on his computer, he asked me why I wanted the surgery, and how much weight I wanted to lose. He then turned to me and said, "thank you, I think you make a good candidate for bariatric surgery." And that was it. $400. I'm in the wrong profession.
I don't wan't to gripe about the psychologist too much. By sheer coincidence, he is the same psychologist that did a great job counselling me when I went through my divorce 16 years ago. I wonder if he's still as good, or if he's sunk to doing quicky evals for the insurance/surgeons.
Finally after meeting with my surgeon, the dietitian, and the psychologist, and attending another seminar, I'm ready to go. My insurance has approved the surgery, and my date is August 22nd. Time to get nervous...
To actually have bariatric surgery, the surgeons at RMAP and the insurance company required me to jump through several hoops. May through August was filled with insurance, surgeon, and hospital related paperwork. In addition to the paperwork, I had to meet with a dietitian, my surgeon, and a psychologist.
I guess they wanted me to visit a psychologist to make sure that I was competent enough to understand what I was getting into.
The meeting with the psychologist cost $400. The insurance covered $370.
I was escorted into a small office with a desk and was given a number 2 pencil and a couple of tests where I answer the questions by filling in the bubble. The questions were great! I was asked true or false statements such as, "I flew across the Atlantic 36 times last year," and "I was on the cover of several magazines this month." Of course, I answered 'true' to all of these questions. After taking the tests, I met with the psychologist for about 5 milliseconds. With his back to me, typing on his computer, he asked me why I wanted the surgery, and how much weight I wanted to lose. He then turned to me and said, "thank you, I think you make a good candidate for bariatric surgery." And that was it. $400. I'm in the wrong profession.
I don't wan't to gripe about the psychologist too much. By sheer coincidence, he is the same psychologist that did a great job counselling me when I went through my divorce 16 years ago. I wonder if he's still as good, or if he's sunk to doing quicky evals for the insurance/surgeons.
Finally after meeting with my surgeon, the dietitian, and the psychologist, and attending another seminar, I'm ready to go. My insurance has approved the surgery, and my date is August 22nd. Time to get nervous...
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