shawna_s

great job! I bet that feels amazing!

I know they want 6 consecutive months. So if I were to start over in a month or two I would have to start my 6 months ALL OVER AGAIN! Is that what you are asking???

Has anyone been denied because they gained weight during the 6 month supervised diet??? I legitimately gained 5-7 pounds b/c of medicine I was on, but I was still 8-9# shy of meeting the 40 bmi requirement, so I cheated a bit. Well, I cheated more than I thought and the doc's scale said i gained 15# in 1 month...AHHH! I am afraid it will be obvious as to what I did and they will deny because of this. Anyone know??

Has anyone been denied because they gained weight during the 6 month supervised diet??? I legitimately gained 5-7 pounds b/c of medicine I was on, but I was still 8-9# shy of meeting the 40 bmi requirement, so I cheated a bit. Well, I cheated more than I thought and the doc's scale said i gained 15# in 1 month...AHHH! I am afraid it will be obvious as to what I did and they will deny because of this. Anyone know??

I wouldn't say I have had bad luck with them, but they told me in the spring that i had to have 3 months of dietary supervision and then once I did that they denied me and said I needed 6 months. I am now on month 5. Let me know what you find out!!! Good luck!

I think this is the surgeons guidelines, but not the insurance guidelines.

I am also curious if anyone has followed up about this. I was told 3 months, hit 3 months and was then told 6 months, if they change it again I am going to lose my mind!!!

I could be wrong, but if you don't have the coverage, I don't think you have any options. My only suggestion is to maybe check into getting an individual plan through someone else. I am checking into this as well, but I heard that individual plans don't cover it either, only group ones. I don't know if that is true at all, but that is what I read. Hopefully you can find something out soon! Good luck!

seriously!? so they won't cover a procedure you need done to prove you have sleep apnea, which is of course "shoe in" for the lap-band. What jerks!

Does anyone know if being apart of WW for 6 months counts as part of your 6 month dietary plan and exercise?

Thanks for responding! If you don't mind me asking, was your BMI over 40? I think that is going to be the deal breaker for me b/c I don't have any other comorbidity besides asthma.

It just kills me that they wouldn't say from square one that " you don't qualify" instead of them paying for me to have the nutritional eval and psych eval and all of the freaking doctor visits. It is a waste of money for them to make it sound like it will happen and then deny, then to just deny it from the beginning.

Maybe i will try the congressman thing. Not sure it will work for me, but maybe it will. The only thing that I know (or from what I can tell online) is that BCBS of IL changed their policy from 3 months to 6 months of supervised diet sometime in March or April, but they told my surgeon's office 3 months around June. Maybe I can get them for quoting me wrong info? I know it is a long shot, but man I am just so disappointed and tired of being fat!!!! I can't believe you had already started your diet and they said no! How frustrating for you! Glad they got it appealed for you!!! **Oh and i have asthma and joint pain, but those are the only comorbidities. It is weird, because when I calculate my BMI online, it says it is 38 now, but when the nutritionist wrote my BMI down in her letter, it was 41.1?

I am now going through the same thing! They told my surgeon 3 months, and when i got my denial letter they said I didn't have the 6 month required. Did you ever get approved with the 3 months or did you ask them about being grandfathered into the 3 month, since that is what it was when you started? Any info you have would be helpful! Thanks!

Hi there! I am so frustrated right now! My insurance company told me that I need to have a 3 month "weigh-in" period with my primary with diet/exercise plan in place, etc., get the psych eval, and nutritionist. I did all of those things and they just denied me! My BMI was 37 at my first visit and unfortunately due to some hormonal problems I am having I have gained probably close to 10 pounds and I think my BMI is 38 now. The only comorbidity i have is asthma. No high BP or anything else. I haven't had labs drawn in awhile, so I am not sure what my cholesterol is, but I am wondering if i need to go eat a cheeseburger before i have labs drawn instead of fasting to get approved for the surgery... ha ha! Anyway, my main question is this: Has anyone else been denied by BCBS of IL? If so, how long did it take to get things straightened out with them? I am so bummed right now!! I really don't want to wait another few months!!!!

I just denied by insurance. Would you mind sending it to me at sweetshawney@netzero.com? thanks so much!