Preparing for Surgery
Prior to Initial Consult
Many insurance companies have strict guidelines, requirements and limitations regarding coverage for the treatment of obesity. Before your initial consult, review your insurance policy. Check the “Exclusion of Coverage” section for mention of weight loss surgery or call your customer service representative to see if weight-loss surgery is a covered benefit under your plan. Ask if either of the procedure codes CPT 43846, which is the Roux-en-Y Gastric Bypass, and CPT 43770, which is the LAP-BAND Adjustable Gastric Banding System, are covered benefits under your plan. You will also need to ask if your plan requires you to have a referral to our program or “precertification” of the initial appointment. If so, these must be provided through your primary care physician. Our office will arrange for approval and pre-certification of the surgical procedure and hospital stay.
Other Questions to Ask Your Insurance:
- Is Dr. Sidney P. Rohrscheib or Dr. Vafa Shayani a provider in my insurance plan?
- Is my hospital in my insurance plan?
- Surgeries are performed at the Dr. John Warner Hospital in Clinton, Illinois and the Carle Foundation Hospital and Provena Covenant Medical Center in Urbana, Illinois
- Do I need to tell my insurance plan, if I am going to be in the hospital?
- Does my plan have a co-payment or any other expenses I must pay for?
- What services will my insurance not cover?
Initial Consult
You will meet with the surgeon, Dr. Sidney Rohrscheib, for your first consult. He will discuss the procedures with you in detail and the risks and benefits associated with them. We encourage you to bring along a family member or other support person; they can help you remember all the information you will receive at this appointment. After meeting with the surgeon, a member of our staff will discuss with you what to expect from this point on, what additional steps are needed to gain insurance approval and answer any other questions you may have. It will be determined at your initial consult whether or not you are a candidate for surgery.
The Illinois Bariatric Center requires that all patients receive a psychiatric evaluation, nutritional consult and general medical physical prior to seeking approval for surgery. If you are determined a candidate for surgery, these appointments will be arranged through our office.
One purpose of the evaluation is to rule out glandular (endocrine) and psychiatric disorders as the major causes of the severe obesity. Evaluations will also help identify those rare medical problems, which may make the risk of major abdominal surgery under general anesthesia too high. Usually obesity-related medical problems are a reason to perform surgery for clinically severe obesity. Reasons not to perform gastric reduction surgery include the presence of active peptic ulcer disease or advanced heart, lung, and/or kidney disease.