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Location
Lutheran Clinic – Weight Loss & Reflux Center Lutheran Hospital 12905 W. 40th Ave., Suite 405 Wheat Ridge, CO 80033
Referrals are welcome for reflux that is refractory or suspected to need a procedure, hiatal and paraesophageal hernias, recurrent symptoms after foregut surgery, achalasia and other motility disorders, and evaluation of reflux after bariatric surgery.
Helpful to include with a referral: the reason for referral and specific question, recent clinic notes, and relevant endoscopy, pathology, physiology testing, imaging, and operative reports.
Insurance
Coverage depends on your specific plan. Before your visit, call the member-services number on your insurance card to confirm that specialist visits are covered and whether your plan requires a referral or prior authorization. The scheduling team can also help answer questions about which plans are accepted at this clinic.
Questions about visits
Do I need a referral to see Dr. Speer?
That depends on your health plan. Some plans require a referral from a primary care clinician before a specialist visit; the scheduling team and your insurer can tell you what yours requires.
Even when a referral isn’t required, having your primary care clinician or gastroenterologist send records ahead of time makes the first visit more productive. Before scheduling, it helps to call the member-services number on your insurance card to confirm coverage for specialist visits and any testing that may follow.
What should I expect at a first visit with a foregut surgeon?
A detailed conversation about your symptoms and history, a review of any tests you’ve already had, an examination, and a discussion of which additional tests — if any — are needed before treatment options can be weighed.
Many first visits don’t end with a treatment decision, and that’s normal. The goal is to understand exactly what is causing your symptoms. If testing is incomplete, you may leave with a plan for endoscopy, pH monitoring, manometry, or imaging, followed by a visit to review the results together.
It helps to bring a list of your medications (including over-the-counter reflux medicines and how you take them), a brief symptom timeline, the names of clinicians you’ve seen, and your questions written down. Bringing a family member or friend can help you remember the discussion.
How do I request an appointment?
Call the scheduling line at 303-265-5260 — new-patient appointments with Dr. Speer are scheduled by phone. Referring clinicians can also send a referral by fax.
When you call, mention that you’d like an appointment with Dr. Speer and briefly describe the reason — for example, reflux that hasn’t responded to medication, a hiatal hernia, swallowing difficulty, or symptoms after previous surgery. That helps the team schedule the right type of visit. If you use the MyChart patient portal, you can manage appointments and messages there once you are established as a patient.
How much does reflux surgery cost, and does insurance cover it?
There isn’t one price — what you pay depends on your insurance plan, the procedure, and where it is done. Health plans, including Medicare, generally cover anti-reflux and hiatal hernia surgery when testing shows it is medically necessary, though many require prior authorization and you may owe a deductible, copay, or coinsurance.
What usually shapes your out-of-pocket cost:
Your plan’s deductible, coinsurance, and out-of-pocket maximum.
Separate bills for the surgeon, the hospital or surgery center, anesthesia, and the testing done before surgery.
The procedure itself. Coverage for established operations such as fundoplication and hiatal hernia repair is generally well defined; coverage for newer procedures, such as LINX or endoscopic treatments, varies more from plan to plan.
Steps that help:
Call the member-services number on your insurance card. Ask whether the procedure and the pre-operative tests are covered, whether prior authorization is required, and what your share is likely to be.
Ask the scheduling team which plans the clinic accepts and how prior authorization is handled.
Ask the hospital’s billing office for an estimate. If you are uninsured or paying yourself, federal rules give you the right to a written good-faith estimate before a scheduled procedure.