bebop

yes just east of Gainesville. I haven't had surgery yet. I have to find a dr that will take medicare. I will get that in July so I am looking now for one. howdy neighbors!

btw I use to live in Rockmart!

mac409

I can help you with the Medicare information. Dr Smith just started taking Medicare again, he is the only doctor in this region who does the ds. Dr Duncan and Dr Hobson at Atlanta Medical center do the RNY. I had my surgery done with Dr Hobson and he is a wonderful doctor and Atlanta Medical center is a wonderful hospitol, I got the best treatment I ever had there. If you want any other information let me know. Alot of the doctors that take medicare have charges that are not covered by medicare that you have to pay up front, Dr Hobsons group does not.

bebop

mac oh yes!! that would be wonderful! I found one that uses the new Emory at John's Creek where I wanted to go but he makes you pay upfront and let medicare reimburse and I just can't afford that! yikes like I have 3k laying around! lol yes thank you so much! woo hoo! I feel hope once again!

mac409

Facility Name Provider Number Date approved State
Atlanta Medical Center N/A 02/24/2006 GA
Emory Dunwoody Medical Center N/A 02/24/2006 GA
Hamilton Medical Center N/A 02/24/2006 GA
Northeast Georgia Health System, Inc. N/A 02/24/2006 GA
Southeast Georgia Health System 110025 03/06/2007 GA
Wellstar Health Systems N/A 02/24/2006 GA

These are the medicare approved centers of excellent in Ga.
Home
this is Dr Hobson and Dr Duncans site. If you are getting your medicare in June you should go to one of the meetings now. They have one every month and you must go to one before you start the process, so it is good to get it out of the way. They won't do anything till you go to this meeting. It is usually a large meeting but very informative. The hospitol is not in the best area of Atlanta, but I had no problems. And the treatment inside is wonderful. I would not go anywhere else.
Peachtree Bariatrics
315 Blvd. NE | Suite 224 | Atlanta, GA 30312
Phone: 404-881-8020

bebop

are the rooms private there? just wondering if my hubby could stay with me during my stay there. poor guy would never find his way out of Atlanta lol

mac409

They are very nice big rooms and you are encouraged to have someone stay over with you. They are on the top floor and you have a beautiful view. The food is very good too. Ofcourse you will not be having any of it. I had my surgery on the morning of the 24th and was home the next evening. I had no pain to speak of. I stayed a couple of hours more than most because the pain meds were making me sick. So I stopped taking them and found out I did not need them anyway. It might get noisey if the copter comes in for a landing because the port is right below. But I enjoyed seeing them land. The staff at the hospitol are really wonderful. That includes everyone.

bebop

so you just had your surgery right? I am thinking medicare is 80/20 right? how much of the 20 do you have to pay up front or do they allow payments on that?

sws57

I live 55 miles from Savannah.Would you tell me of your experience with bariatric surgery in Savannah.Would you recommend this surgery to someone who is waiting for evaluation.

mac409

I have a suplemental insurance so I pay nothing, except if it is not covered by medicare in the first place. I can tell you that the bill from the hospitol was $59,474.14. It looks like medicare paid 56,372.14 of it. I also got a bill from the Anesthesia professionals for $2400, but it looks like they have not sent it to medicare yet. Not sure if the surgeons fee is included with the hosp fee or not. Before surgery they give you a paper to sign saying you will pay what medicare does not and they do not ask for money first, at least they did not in my case.
As for supplemental insurance it is great but for me it was expensive since I am on medicare because of an workmens injury and am under the usual age there is not much of a choice on policies so it costs me $350 a month, but since I have had three or more hospitol visits int the last two years it has been worth it to me. Depending on your situation there may be lower cost supplementals that you qualify for so check it out.
I also had also had an extra proceedure and a repair done so my bill may be higher than most. Hope this helps, I can tell you that it was worth it and I feel great. Bernadette

mac409

Sorry I do not know anything about Doctors in your area but check Obesity Help - Weight Loss Surgery, Obesity Support Groups, Obesity Forums, Surgical Procedures, I am sure you can find out about doctors in your area there. They have a place where patients rate thier doctors and hosp., country wide. The surgery is well worth doing, I had it Jan 24 and feel great, I am already down 36 lbs and I can not exercise much because of my injuries. I had the lap RNY and recovered very quickly. As long as you get your protien and take your viatimins and calicum you will do great. It is a great tool. Ask all the questions you like and I will try to answer them and if I can not there are a lot of great people here with a lot more experence than I that would be glad to help you. There are also a lot of other groups on line that also have a lot of info for you. Obesity help also has a store. There is also a group on My space . So don't be afraid to ask questions or look around the internet for answers. Bernadette