[bwink23]

Frank,


You could be right about that "asking for forgiveness"....the others who got paid also did not contact BCWW prior to surgery. Jasonhhh got paid at 100%, 2Confused at 60%. These damn insurance companies don't seem to know how to be consistent. Looks like i'm gonna take the dive and be the first to get a semi "pre-authorization" for this overseas surgery. Although, i did schedule it before i made it known to them what my intentions were...the lady on the phone acted like it was no big deal and issued me a case #. STRANGE.

LauraB, who also has BCBS, was told by her insurance she shouldn't have sent her information to BCWW first. Why, i don't have a clue. They told me ANY foreign procedures done should go through BCWW first. i believe she did the right thing though. I'm not sure how BCWW works in conjunction with your provider. My provider didn't even know what i should do first, they said to send the billing to them. BCWW sounded way more convincing, and logically seems like the first place to send your foreign bills.

As far as "preferred provider", i asked BCWW about that, and they said it doesn't play a role when determining "in" or "out" of network, that's up to your insurance plan. BUT, if they do the international coding themselves, they may be able to wiggle the numbers to where you get a much healthier chunk of your money back, seeing as how much money your saving them vs. U.S.

I got an "out-of-pocket" estimate of $48,500 for a fusion/ADR for 2 cervical levels from a local surgeon. That is JUST the surgeons fee. My cervical by comparison overseas is around $16,000 U.S. dollars. Doing both procedures at once also saves a good chunk of change....Hopefully they will take these things into consideration....I will note of them in my cover letter when i submit my paperwork.

So what should be highlighted in your letter to BCWW ?? Cost savings? Preferred Provider hospital ?? Failure of conservative treatment? inability to work ?? Surgeon experience?


One more thing, i have an app on phone that lets me record any conservation i want and sends it to dropbox....so if the insurance tries to backpeddle on me, i have evidence of their approval recorded that i will use in my defense if need be. I have recorded conversation with BCWW and my BCBS rep who gave me the go-ahead and confirmed my WorldWide coverage. Just for back up, i highly recommend the app. (InCall Recorder)