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Old 09-16-2018, 12:06 PM
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GravyBaby GravyBaby is offline
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Join Date: Mar 2018
Posts: 142
Default Florida Blue (BCBS Florida) Approval!

Hi all,

I was shocked to find out last week that BCBS of Flordia, known locally as Florida Blue, approved my lumbar disc replacement surgery procedure (L5-S1) in full (minus my deductable) with Dr. Rolando Garcia of the Orthopedic Care Center of Aventura Hospital in Aventura, Florida, after a short (5 day) medical review.

Dr. Garcia informed me during our second meeting, around the end of August of this year, that he heard Florida Blue was on the verge of adopting lumbar ADR into their standard procedure approval. On researching on my own, I found that a reported 62% of nationwide insurance companies are now covering the procedure, with more joining the ranks by the end of the year.

I crossed my fingers and hoped and prayed and really lucked out. It took one week (5 business days) to get the approval. Even more lucky was that we did not have to submit an appeal. I thank Dr. Garcia's staff for preparing the submission to our insurance with great expertise.

It is possible that my condition had something to do with the quick approval. I have retrolisthesis, a form of spondylolisthesis, which has progressively incapacitated me over the past year. In addition, the new strict opiod laws forced me into the emergency room three times the week prior to our insurance submission. Those factors may or may not have played a role in the quick approval.

I would highly recommend Dr. Garcia for anyone in the US looking to get their ADR surgery approved through insurance. His staff is ready to help and he will answer any questions you may have.

A little info about Dr. Garcia: He was co-developer in the latest FDA-approved artificial lumbar disc, the Activ-L. He was part in the FDA trials for the Activ-L. He has performed hundreds of successful ADR surgeries with the charité, prodisc and Activ-L devices over the past 18 years.

Good luck to everyone in their quest for insurance coverage!
__________________
2001 - Pulled off monkey bars, landed directly on coccyx.
2006 - Sports injury that made it worse.
2016 - Multiple instances of paralyzing low-back pain.
2017 - Blew out my back on leg-press. MRI showed L5-S-1 disc herniation and grade 1 retrolisthesis.
2018 - Successful ADR surgery with Dr. Rolando Garcia using the Activ-L implant.
2019 - In physical therapy for burning in feet, L4-L5 diffuse disc bulge and SI joint pain.
2020 - Getting better with one-on-one PT.

30 - Male - American
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