Will my insurance cover surgery?
This is an important issue that you will need to investigate.  It is entirely employer driven, in otherwords the company you work for who provides the insurance decides whether or not you have surgical weight loss benefits.  You will need to call yourself to find this out, although there are many employers in town who we know definitely provide coverage (e.g. Children's Hospital, General Electric, Ford, Cincinnati Public Schools, City of Cincinnati).  We have an insurance team consisting of 3 full time professionals that have unsurpassed expertise to help you get your procedure approved!

What do I need to ask to determine if I have benefits?
You will need to call your benefit administrator (the number is usually listed on the back of your card) and ask them if you have surgical weight loss benefits.  Specifically, if you have coverage for laparoscopic gastric banding (CPT code 43770) or laparoscopic gastric bypass (CPT code 43644).  If you call 1-866-SUCCESS they can also assist you with determining whether or not you have benefits for the REALIZE band.

I don't have surgical weight loss benefits but my family doctor said he would write me a letter, will that work?
No.  This is one of the most frequent questions we get asked!  If you have a policy exclusion this means that your insurance will not cover surgical weight loss even if the president of the United States writes you a letter.  Your insurance company is not saying you don't need the operation, they are saying that your policy does not provide benefits to cover it, just as your fire insurance policy will not cover flood damage.

Is Dr. Curry in-network with my insurance?
As of January 1st, 2008 we have changed our status to out-of-network with all plans.  We chose to do this because insurance companies are not covering band adjustments after surgery (despite the fact that they may tell you on the phone that they will).  This results in a lot of associated costs for our patients after surgery for the adjustments that are critical to their success.  We have developed a Total Care Plan that includes free unlimited visits or adjustments for 2 years after surgery.  This will more than likely cost you less money than if we were in-network and you had to pay for your band adjustments out-of-pocket after surgery.  We discuss this in detail at our information sessions.

Humana patients will be happy to know that JourneyLite, our outpatient gastric band surgery center is contracted and has a global rate that includes the surgeon’s fee.  Therefore patients who go through Dr.Curry’s office with Humana and have surgery at JourneyLite do not have to pay any out of network fees to our office, yet still can take advantage of our Total Care Plan!! This is a fantastic opportunity for Humana patients with only one claim to your insurance company with your in-network plan deductible and co-pays applied for our Total Care Plan.   

Do you accept Medicare or Medicaid?
Medicare has stringent guidelines on comorbidities that you must have to qualify for surgery.  In selected cases they will cover gastric band or bypass.  Bariatric surgery is a non-covered benefit for all Ohio Medicaid products that we have encountered.