Good evening all...

I stopped by the Dr office today and asked if they could show me where I was in the journey to the LAP-BAND® and to see if they had on record what I have on record. They didn't. Some of this process has been confusing! As it turns out, I have completed EVERYTHING that I need to do on my part. The office insurance specialist even typed up the letter to the insurance company stating why I don't have medical records for '06. She was wonderful!

Soooooo this means that Monday they will be submitting my information to the insurance company! yipee!!

Any idea how long that the approval process will take? And after approval (note the confidence there!!) how long does it typically take to get to schedule the surgery?

Thanks in advance for the info.

Approvals really vary in time frame. My insurance (Anthem BCBS) could potentially "review" my claim for up to 30 days. It took about 4 working days from submission until I received my phone call. Most people don't have to wait long. My surgery date was scheduled that day. If I hadn't been going out of town, I could have been operated on within two weeks (because of the pre-op diet).

The process is generally very quick for people.

I think I got approved the same day that everything was completed. But my hospital's bariatric center had a working relationship with BCBS so virtually all BCBS patients were automatically approved. But I think it varies from ins. to ins. co.

My paperwork was submitted on September 21 and I was approved on September 28. My doctors office doesn't require a pre-op diet other than the day before surgery, so I really could've had the surgery sooner than October 15. The reason I waited is because I wanted to make arrangements to have people around to help with my son, the few days after surgery.

My surgeon's office actual had an opening the same week as I got my approval. I think scheduling of the surgery depends on your surgeon and whether they have a pre-op diet required.