Karen,
I am sorry to hear about your situation. My in-person appeal with BCBS was one month after my denial letter. I think it was only this fast because I became a real pain in the butt if you get my drift. Too bad they already had their mind made up before I walked in the door for my appeal.
Anyway, I think there are a few people on this forum that have had BCBS pay a percentage of their surgery. Hopefully they can chime in.
It is cheaper to do in Germany/overseas. However, the dollar is very low against the euro right now (which will have a significant impact on the final amount). My first email was with Dr. Bertagnoli during the first week of October 2003 and I had surgery on November 15th, 2003. He (and many other surgeons overseas) is pretty busy these days--the man is a machine though and requires no sleep or rest.
It is quite amazing how he is in a different country almost everyday of the week.
Please do not hesitate to send my a private message or email.
I wish you the best,
Justin
