Has anyone gone through Cigna insurance with success?

cigna paid for my original band under ppo, then again under hmo after slippage, however, each employer purchases a different policy, so just because mine covered WLS, does not mean the next guy's will. Good luck!

I didn't realize that each employer bought a difference policy, so they would all be different.

Mine requires 6 months of seeing a dietician/physical therapist under a 'dr. supervised diet' before even being considered for surgery. It's frustrating, because I know other Cigna'ers haven't had this requirement, and are getting into surgery consult earlier.

I am curious how they are circumventing this.

I had to do the six months diet. It is in their criteria for bariatric surgery. I dont know any way around it but to do it unless you hire a lawyer to help you. Good Luck

I have Cigna PPO, a 6 mos diet is required. I have been seeing my PCP for the last year (just for weight in the last 4 mos) and a nutrionist (that CIGNA pays for every month) each month for the last 4 mos. I have 2 more visits to go. I'm hoping that they approve me...but we will see.

lasonyadj, how has your process with CIGNA going? I would be in the fourth month of a six month program at the end of January. However I saw my surgeon yesterday and am going to self pay and go ahead and have surgery. He has told me that they haven't had CIGNA approve ANYBODY yet. Just curious how yours is going. M

My doctors are helping me putting together the paperwork for this now, everything should be complete in a week or two. I say my PCP for the last time last week. I am a little worried because I did not meet with my PCP one month because she was out but I did come in for a weigh in. I'm thinking of going for two more months just in case. I am going to send in what I have now to see if I am denied. No harm in trying I say. I also got a little hope when I looked at OH insurers database and saw that several people were approved with Cigna for the lapband.

I'll keep my fingers and toes crossed for ya. M

Okay...the secretary has my paperwork!! Please say a little prayer for me, as I'm hoping everything goes well.

Will you let me know how it goes. I have CIGNA ins but I am going to go the selfpay route. But I have a couple of weeks until my surgery so I could still change my mind. I have done four months of supervised diet so far. I just hear how difficult CIGNA is to get an approval. Even with comorbidites. I am diabetic with high lipids also. So I am very interested in what happens and wish you the best of LUCK. M:Banane45: :Banane34: :rose:

Hey did you have surgery? How did everything go? I'm still waiting on approval, the secretary said she mailed everything out on last week.

:faint: Last Wednesday I went to the dentist. For about 15 years I have beenasking for all 19 of my remaining adult teeth to be pulled and to get dentures. Well my dentist has finally agreed that it would be a good thing. However I have to selfpay for them. So I am going to hold off on my LapBand and try to get CIGNA to cover it. So to make a long story short I haven't been banded and I have about 7 weeks left to go in my MD directed WLP. I will let you know when I submit and hear something. Thanks for remembering. M:Banane36: :girl_hug: This is what I think all dentists need.

:faint: Found out from CIGNA today the LB is excluded on my policy. Oh well guess I will have to selfpay after all. Let me know how yours goes. M:)

Sorry to hear that....I hope Cigna didn't change their policy for the new year. I think I'm going to call and ask again tomorrow. I also have a HUGE bone to pick with the secretary who sent my paperwork out to Cigna. I went up to the doctor's office and filled out a release to have the paperwork given to me that was supplied to Cigna. Well she sends me my lab results and the notes from my nutritionist that don't even count with out my PCP notes. I am praying that she just half-a**ed it with me and not Cigna. She didn't send me the letters from any of my doctors or the psychiatrist letter....I'm so pissed. I don't know whether to pay her a personal visit tomorrow or a pleasant phone call. She has one nasty attitude. What should I do? I want to be nice since she could be the one person who ruins it for me but she is really pissing me off.

Ouch that is a tough one. I would hope since that is her job she would send the correct info to CIGNA. I have already told my PCP that I want my entire chart of almost ten years copied and I will personally take it to the surgeons office. I also have my own copies of the nutritionist and psych evaluation. I plan to make a cover letter of MINE to go along with the medical necessity letters for CIGNA. I am going to staple it to a copy of THEIR bariatric policy. Then I plan to highlight everything in my chart and write out where it is located so there will be no coming back and saying we didn't have this or that. I am going to send it certified return receipt overnight mail so I have a receipt saying it made it into their possession.

This may be overkill but when dealing with CIGNA I think it is best not to take chances.

Also my HR person told me again today that LapBand is NOT excluded from my insurance and that she had personally talked to the CIGNA coordinator in October when I started this process. So she is going to contact that coordinator again and have them email to her, which she will forward to me, where it is not excluded in my policy. That way I will have something written straight from CIGNA also.

I tell you it will be a fight to the end for one or the other of us. M

:faint: My worst CIGNA nightmare came true today. After repeatedly talking to our HR benefits coordinator and calling CIGNA's benefits coordinator for our healthplan I found bariatric surgery is EXCLUDED on our plan. Then my almost bestest dream came true.:clap2: Today was the LAST day to switch insurance at my husbands job. The best part it is United and it states in the benefits hand book that bariatric surgery IS a benefit. So tomorrow they are supposed to mailout our new insurance cards. My current PCP and LapBand Doc are approved providers so I won't have to switch docs.

So I think I dodged a bullet on this one. My husband said if I hadn't been a bulldog about digging, digging, digging we would have never known and would have paid for it ourselves.

Now before anybody gets up in arms I will stay with this insurance as long as it is offered thru his job. :Banane41: :Banane20: :Banane31: :Banane18: :Banane28: :Banane48: :Banane04: :Banane47: :Banane05: :Banane35: :Banane03: :Banane21: :Banane43: :Banane32: :xena_banana: