I just called my insurance company (BCBS) of Minnesota to ask if they covered the sleeve. The said no and that it was investigational. I have heard from other people that this can be appealed. Does anybody know what BCBS requires for surgery. Do they have a 6 month diet, etc. Thanks for your help

First you need to find out if you have WLS as a benefit thru your insurance (some employers do not include it so they can keep premiums down). I have BCBS MN and was told they require a 6-month supervised diet, psych eval, and 2-year weight history. I have sleep apnea so will be getting those records also. My surgeon's office said things are changing all the time with insurance companies covering the sleeve so to be patient Meanwhile I am moving forward with what is required and praying that with time BCBSMN will cover this "investigational" procedure by the end of the year. There was another member on here that was just approved by BCBSMN...so keep your fingers crossed. Good luck!

I just called my insurance company (BCBS) of Minnesota to ask if they covered the sleeve. The said no and that it was investigational. I have heard from other people that this can be appealed. Does anybody know what BCBS requires for surgery. Do they have a 6 month diet, etc. Thanks for your help

You can look directly at their clinical policy bulletin online. Go the the bcbsmn website and go to the bottom left of the home page and click on the "providers" link. Go down to "tools and resources" and click on "medical policy". Click "I accept" at the bottom of the first page, then "view all active policies" at the top of the next page. Scroll down to "bariatric surgery". The policy will open as a PDF file. It's all there--everything about what they allow and expect.

When I first started this journey, my insurance did not cover the sleeve. I went on vacation and when I came back after the first of July, I looked at the policy again and lo and behold, it was now covered.

Mid year may be when they update the policies, so check after July 1st on yours.