I have a consultation with Dr. Crane on the 8th of November. I am nervous, and I am not entirely sure what kind of question I need to be asking him.

One think is fore sure.
I need to ask him about helping me to write a letter to my university to in order to remove the cap from my insurance. which has already been offered to me by his billing dept. The thing here is I purchased insurance through my university. The insurance is great but they have a annual cap of 25,000 for transgender related surgeries. Because I have insurance that I want to use on my bottom surgery the billing department of his office said the price would raise from 22,000 to around 50,000. absurd right!? No one ever told me the price of surgery goes up when you are insured. I thought that was the point of insurance. To make the cost of transition, and surgeries affordable!!

I know I also need to talk to him about laser and electrolysis in the bikini area. I have heard conflicting opinions on genital electrolysis before surgery. people say do not attempt it. That it is better to wait till surgery to have all of the follicles burned. others say there is a 94% clear all rate, and the remaining percent will not be cleared, and could end up in the vaginal cavity... those people say to have all of your electrolysis done 6 months in advance to your surgery to ensure you have all appropriate areas cleared, and the skin has time to heal.

beyond these questions I am not sure what to ask.

I am asking any of you that have had consults or are post-op what kind of questions I should be thinking about.

With electrolysis, the surgeon will have instructions describing what they want. Some may want areas treated and others may not require any treatment depending on the procedure.

I am not sure what is going on with the insurance but often the price set for a medical procedure is high and then the insurance company bargains the price down to what should be paid. My blue cross insurance didn't cover anything because of the limits. But just having it reduced the price of some medical testing to the limits the insurance company would pay instead of a much higher price someone off the street would pay. This will come down to an agreement between the doctor and the insurance company so you will need a letter from the insurance company indicating the insurance company will pay the agreed upon price whatever they decide it is.

Hello,

Consultations are a way to get to know each-other, ask questions, and see if you are a good candidate for surgery. A good doctor will want to screen you to make sure you are fit physically and mentally. You will need two letters of recommendation from your therapists or doctors. I was in Crane's office with Dr. Satterwhite just over a month ago. Patience is key as they are quite busy and yet they want to offer high quality care. I also had a previous consultation with Dr. Bowers in Burlingame, CA. I don't want to comment unless you really want to know my feeling about that visit.

Dr. Crane's office takes most medical plans. I was on Anthem Blue Cross but am switching to Kaiser. Anthem will not cover pre-op electrolysis. Believe me, I filed a grievance with Anthem and another with my state health administrator. They are simply awful. Kaiser has provisions in place to cover this procedure.

Hope this helps!
-Michele

You absolutely need to get electrolysis, via laser or traditional.  They do a  follicle scrape at their office (Satterwhite is my surgeon), but trust me, you do not want hair in your vagina.  Remove the hair.  Good Luck!

Quote from: uxmal on October 25, 2016, 12:33:21 PM
Hello,

Consultations are a way to get to know each-other, ask questions, and see if you are a good candidate for surgery. A good doctor will want to screen you to make sure you are fit physically and mentally. You will need two letters of recommendation from your therapists or doctors. I was in Crane's office with Dr. Satterwhite just over a month ago. Patience is key as they are quite busy and yet they want to offer high quality care. I also had a previous consultation with Dr. Bowers in Burlingame, CA. I don't want to comment unless you really want to know my feeling about that visit.

Dr. Crane's office takes most medical plans. I was on Anthem Blue Cross but am switching to Kaiser. Anthem will not cover pre-op electrolysis. Believe me, I filed a grievance with Anthem and another with my state health administrator. They are simply awful. Kaiser has provisions in place to cover this procedure.

Hope this helps!
-Michele

I would love to know any information you have to share about Dr Crane, or Bowers. I would also love you know anything you have to share about Anthem, or Kaiser. I currently have United Healthcare through Ohio University. I am struggling with them to remover the $25,000 annual cap that is applied to transgender services.