Frequently Asked Questions
Questions about Surgery and Post-Op Care
Click here for videos of our surgeons answering frequent questions.
Nutrition Questions
Click here for videos of our dietitian answering frequent questions.
Scheduling First Appointment
Southwest Bariatric Surgeons is committed to the belief that a patient must make an informed decision about whether to have weight loss surgery. Consequently, the first step in our new patient process is a free educational seminar.
Seminars are held several times a month in various locations. When you attend one, you will be provided with medical history and other forms that must be completed for you to be considered a candidate for surgery.
One form you'll receive will request insurance information and a copy of your insurance card. After you send us this information, we can check your benefits to see whether your plan may cover weight loss surgery. (We also encourage you to contact your insurance company and/or read your booklet.) Once we obtain the answer, we will contact you to discuss your benefits and schedule your first appointment if you'd like to proceed.
Click here to register for a seminar
Insurance Coverage
Southwest Bariatric Surgeons is contracted with several insurance carriers, and we are working to form more relationships. In situations where we're not contracted, we work with the insurance companies on behalf of our patients.
Unfortunately, many insurance plans do not cover weight loss surgery. It varies by insurance company and even with different plans from the same company. For this reason, we can't give general answers about coverage. Instead, we gather a prospective patient's insurance information prior to scheduling the first appointment so that we can check whether surgery may be covered. We also encourage individuals to read their insurance booklet and/or contact their insurance company.
Patient Advocate Program
Each new patient is assigned a Patient Advocate who walks them through the insurance and payment process. There are several steps to getting weight loss surgery covered by insurance, and the Patient Advocate is just that -- the patient's advocate in working with the insurance company.
Getting Started
To start the process, attend one of the seminars listed on this Web site. Then, return the form you'll receive at the seminar, along with a copy of your insurance card. We can then check whether your individual insurance plan covers weight loss surgery. We'll contact you to discuss your coverage and schedule your first appointment if you'd like to proceed.
