Hi all I'm in mn and am on health partners mncare and was woundering if any one else is to and what they had to do for insurance etc. I want the lap-band® and worried they won't cover it.

Welcome to the forums! Your best bet is to call your insurance company and talk to them to see if Lapband (WLS) is covered.

That's what I am going to do today thanks for the welcome.

Ok just called my insurance comp and they said that they do cover the lap band yayayay I am happy about that I have my senamair sceduled for next thurs night.

Woo hooo. Congrats! First stone along the path.

Ok just called my insurance comp and they said that they do cover the LAP-BAND® yayayay I am happy about that I have my senamair sceduled for next thurs night.

A fellow MN girl. What hospital?

I also have HealthPartners, and I was banded this past Monday (8/16) at Unity. While it took me about three months to complete HealthPartner's pre-surgery requirements, I found the process to be quite simple and painless. In addition to the insurance company's requirements, the surgeon required that I lose at least 10 % of my excess weight before I could even schedule a surgery date. Fortunately, that weight came off with ease.

Good luck to you!

I also have HealthPartners, and I was banded this past Monday (8/16) at Unity. While it took me about three months to complete HealthPartner's pre-surgery requirements, I found the process to be quite simple and painless. In addition to the insurance company's requirements, the surgeon required that I lose at least 10 % of my excess weight before I could even schedule a surgery date. Fortunately, that weight came off with ease.

Good luck to you!

Where did you have your surgery done? I am looking at park nicollet hospitals

A fellow MN girl. What hospital?

Park nicollet in st louis park

Unity Hospital (Allina) with Dr. Frederick Johnson. I did quite a bit of research and even conducted informal reference checks prior to selecting my surgeon, and Dr. Johnson consistently received the highest of praise in an area that is critically important to me; bedside manner. He's not only highly experienced, but he's also one heck of a nice guy. I work with physicians daily, and my own experience tells me that good manners aren’t always so easy to find amongst surgeons.

Unity Hospital | Bariatric Center | Meet our staff

I am a male, so I preferred a male surgeon, but Dr. Laura July is another surgeon with the Unity group that I have spoken with on multiple occasions and would recommend. There are very few female bariatric surgeons, so if a female surgeon is a strong preference for you, I’d recommend that you at least consider Dr. July.

I must throw out the disclaimer that I’m on an Allina employee health plan (through HealthPartners), which uses pricing to encourage me to use Allina’s physicians and facilities. As such, I only considered surgeons within Allina’s immediate network. I don’t know anything about the Park Nicollet bariatric surgeons.

Hi Fellow Minnesotan! I am new here too. I have Blue Cross Blue Shield so I have to wait out the 6 months to get it covered. I am going to U of M Fairview with Dr Leslie. I meet with him again on Monday and surgery will be in NOvember sometime. I cant wait! I need to lose 15 pounds before the surgery and its not going so well. I have been working pretty hard to get in off, I am thinking about doing protein shakes to get it off. Good luck!

I have read that doing the protein shakes work well to loose weight quickly. Good luck to you too.

A dietitian at Unity Hospital put me on an 1800 calorie per day diet, which I found to be very easy to follow. It simply consisted of me eating a balanced diet consisting of a certain # of starches, Proteins, milk, vegetable, fruit and fat servings per meal (it was VERY easy to follow). I am 6' 4" with a large frame, so even though 1800 calories was right for me, it might not be the right # of calories for you. Nonetheless, I dropped 35 pounds prior to my surgery, whereas my surgeon wanted me to lose 25 pounds. The best part of this balanced diet was that it helped me to learn to eat much like I'll need to eat for the rest of my life.

I also eliminated liquids (except milk w/cereal) from my meals while on this diet, which unquestionably made me feel full faster (you'll have to do this after surgery, so consider this practice).

I'd also strongly urge you to exercise daily if you aren't already doing so. I began walking for about 40 to 60 minutes each and every morning, which quickly became habit. Now my dog won't let me miss a day, rain or shine!

Good luck!

Thanks so much for the tips. I'm waiting to be seen by the dietican now so I am going to ask if they can help me with a menu planner. The liquids is what I need work on, quitting diet coke and not drinking while eating are my challenges. I am working on it though! Thanks again for the advice!

Make an appt for a consultation. You will have a better idea. I was worried about the same and I just had mine done. I have different insurance. What is your BMI?

Hi AmyBethy! I am new too and awaiting approval from my insurance company. My insurance carrier is Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. I had to have a psych eval, proof that I had participated in some type of structured weight losss program such as Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, etc. I also had a letter from my regular physician as well as one from the surgeon that will do the procedure - both recommending the procedure due to health problems that I have started having. My BMI is 50 and I am so ready to move forward. I will definitely let everyone know as soon as I hear something =)