Have a Question on RFA

[Ry]

Well I just finished reading tons of posts on RFA...and just my luck, none of them answered my question. My question is if the procedure is now covered by most insurance carriers?

I seem to recall a post on here saying it was no longer considered experimental and was being covered (of course I can't find that one) and several of the more recent posts on RFA have been deleted. So does anyone know?

[Ry]

Thanks so much Katie!

[Surveyor]

Hi Ry,

My RFA was covered by Blue Shield of California. It seems every procedure I’ve had has needed insurance pre-approval, but the insurance company has always been fast (same or next day) and has never denied me any procedure recommended by one of their “preferred providers.” Most doctors here seem to be on their preferred providers list. I did a search on doctors offering RFA and inquired about how many procedures (of the needed area) they had done, successes, etc. If they sounded good, I asked if they were on the preferred providers list or checked the list Blue Shield provides their insurance clients.

Good luck.

[MelanieLR]

Ok, It's my turn to say DUH?? What's RFA?

Thanks,

Melanie

[Ry]

Surveyor,

Thanks that is good news because I am pretty sure that's the insurance she has. She is going to have it done in Alabama if she is a candidate. Still waiting on her PET results.

Melanie,

RFA is radio frequency ablation. They go in with a probe and heat the tumor to kill it (ok that's my simple explanation - its more complicated). They can do it instead of surgery for tumors not too close to major veins, not too large etc. My MIL is too fraile for traditional surgery so we're looking into this.