I am very surprised kaiser is picking up disc replacements. I know they are better today than they were in the 80's and 90's, but I was shocked to read the approval. Congrats! I too know what a pain in the backside it is to fight insurance companies. I gave up because I needed to focus on rehab post op. I sure hope everything goes well for you.
BTW what is California Major Risk Insurance? I checked out the site;
http://www.mrmib.ca.gov
Is it Medi-CAL? what does it have to do with Kaiser?