The Texas Rehabilitation Commission
I had already had my consultation with the surgeon when my wife suggested to me that I should at least try the TRC. She said "Your father always says asking is free" and "you have nothing to lose". So right then I called and set up an appointment and they were going to see me within one week.
When I met with my counselor he asked me what I wanted, so I told him. I told him I wanted to stay employed and live. I told him that it was hard for me to find a job and when I had one it was hard to keep it because my weight interfered with my performance. He wanted to know my job history, education, and health problems. We then discussed what would work for me. I told him my prior diet history and what my doctors recommended. I explained to him that my insurance would not cover this procedure and that I needed financial assistance in order to have this operation. He agreed with me and told me what he needed to talk to his superiors. He said after all the paperwork arrived by law he was required to respond to me in sixty days. He said not to worry that he was much faster than that. He also said that first he needed me to have a psychological evaluation. Go figure that? So he set up an appointment and PRE-PAID for it. This is when I first started to feel like I had a chance to get the TRC to pay for at least part of the procedure.
This is the paperwork he required: all my medical records, and my wife's and my pay stubs. Well, I went home to my lovely wife and we got on the internet and started researching the TRC and people who were successful in getting them to pay. The first thing everyone said was not to give anything to the TRC without making a copy of it first. People on the net on the said the TRC had a habit out of losing paperwork. (My wonderful counselor NEVER LOST ANYTHING!) The next thing they said was to have my doctors write letters recommending this procedure as the only sure and safe way for a person of my size to lose weight successfully. We were lucky in that someone from OSSG-SA knew someone who had been successful already. Her name is Sandy Rodgers and she emailed us copies of the letters she used in her appeal. My wife sat at the computer and using Sandy's letters as guides we wrote the letters for each of my doctors so that all they had to do was sign them. We drove around town to my three different doctors offices to request medical records and have them sign the letters.
I turned in all the paperwork (I kept copies) to the TRC and waited. In just 45 days I was approved for my operation. The TRC didn't lose anything and didn't argue with me one little bit. Because my wife and I are both employed, they did not have to pay for the entire operation, but they will be paying for most of it. My counselor was very careful of the State's money. He verified our income and did other types of financial checks. DON'T try to cheat the TRC, with today's technology Big Brother is everywhere!
Let me state for the record, without the wonderful help of the TRC I would not be with a great job or getting healthier. It is wonderful to come across a state agency that really works well!