Frankg
06-03-2009, 11:59 PM
Hi everyone. You are a godsend. So glad I found this.
I have cervical DDD and need 2 or 3 total disc replacements.
My options are Prospine or Stenum in Germany, or a local surgeon I found who is willing to do off-label use of the Prodisc-C.
I cannot afford to pay cash. My insurance is through United Healthcare via Cobra (I was recently laid off).
I found out that my policy actually includes what they call "international medical" which is not the same as travel insurance. According to the rep with whom I spoke it is in fact out-of-network coverage if I happened to need surgery, etc. in a foreign country.
As we all know UHC is the worse for ADR and is likely to deny any pre-approval I may request. HOWEVER I have been told by several people that a better way to get a company like UHC to cover ADR is if the surgery is done as an emergency, i.e. via the emergency room. In this case the argument is between the insurance company and the physicians who determined at that moment that ADR was the most appropriate intervention.
Is there any truth to this? Should I go to Germany and wait until I'm totally in crisis and have to be rushed to the ER in an ambulance?
Thanks
Frank
I have cervical DDD and need 2 or 3 total disc replacements.
My options are Prospine or Stenum in Germany, or a local surgeon I found who is willing to do off-label use of the Prodisc-C.
I cannot afford to pay cash. My insurance is through United Healthcare via Cobra (I was recently laid off).
I found out that my policy actually includes what they call "international medical" which is not the same as travel insurance. According to the rep with whom I spoke it is in fact out-of-network coverage if I happened to need surgery, etc. in a foreign country.
As we all know UHC is the worse for ADR and is likely to deny any pre-approval I may request. HOWEVER I have been told by several people that a better way to get a company like UHC to cover ADR is if the surgery is done as an emergency, i.e. via the emergency room. In this case the argument is between the insurance company and the physicians who determined at that moment that ADR was the most appropriate intervention.
Is there any truth to this? Should I go to Germany and wait until I'm totally in crisis and have to be rushed to the ER in an ambulance?
Thanks
Frank