Posted by Steve Giddings on July 11, 2001 at 10:04:53:
In Reply to: Insurance Glitch posted by Angie on July 10, 2001 at 16:37:12:
I would make sure that you discuss this problem not only with your surgeon, but with your surgeon's office manager. It is their job to make sure that they get paid. Folks who schedule surgery don't like cancellations, especially for administrative reasons. If an OR goes unused, it costs money. I would second the idea of finding a cardiologist familiar with the MAZE as well. Hopefully that cardiologist would be on your insurer's list, be preferred provider, or whatever the term fro the type of coverage you have. I would make sure that the insurance company will honor the opinion of the cardiologist you choose. You can also refute the opinion of the cardiologist who ventured the opinion. Ask what basis they used for their judgment. The facts on risks from AF are in the literature. AF is an independent risk factor for early death, regardless of its cause. The risk for acute death in an otherwise healthy person for the maze is present, but is very small. If I recall correctly, Dr.Cox reported one death. It was relatively soon after he started doing the procedure, and the patient had other significant medical problems that increased risk. Fight back!!