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Self-Pay Plan
We do have a self-pay plan available for patients without medical coverage who wish to pay for the surgery themselves. If you are eligible for surgery, we can put you in contact with a Financial Analyst to discuss your options.
Referrals
Referrals are required for all patients who have insurance coverage that requires a referral to a specialist. Be sure to bring your referral with you or advise your primary care doctor of the date of your appointment, so that the referral can be sent to us prior to the consultation. Many insurance companies will not pay for the services you are seeking if the referral is not obtained prior to the first office visit. The fax number for referrals is (317) 582-7067.
Approvals
Insurance approvals average six to eight weeks for a reply but may take longer. Waiting for the approval can be difficult. Many insurance companies send the request to a third party for medical review. This will increase the amount of time you may have to wait.
Denials
The surgeons are very skilled in assessing patients and documenting their findings as they present their request for insurance approval. Our surgeons will not request surgery approval if they do not feel it is medically necessary. All our patients are examined by their surgeon at their initial consultation, and information from that exam is presented to the insurance company in the approval request.
However, insurance denials do occur, and patients are encouraged to appeal denials. Our staff can assist you through the appeal process. Many original denials are reversed after going through the appeal process. Consult your insurance plan booklet to learn how to appeal your case if this happens to you. One area that frequently causes denials is documentation of the patient's previous weight loss history. Patients are often reluctant to write down every diet and method of weight loss they have used in the past. Often these memories are not especially pleasant, and you may perceive it as a list of failures. However, this is the most important piece of information you can provide. All patients are encouraged to spend time making the record as accurate and complete as possible.
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