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Bcbs Insurance Changes Re 6 Month Diet



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I just got my email newsletter from Dr. David Kim. This info was included and may be helpful to someone else:

Effective February 1, 2012, BCBS of Texas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Illinois have DROPPED the 6 month program that they previously required for weight loss surgery! Contact us to check your benefits and see if your policy was affected. This now means that if you qualify, you could head to surgery within 6-8 WEEKS instead of 6-8 months.

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Thank you for the information. I have BCBS TX and I have been wondering about this.. I have read my policy over and over and all it said was that it would be treated like any other surgery. I just started my journey. I see my surgeon, Dr. Avera from Ocean Springs, MS, on Friday for the first time. I am quite nervous and exited at the same time. Your information is quite helpful to me and I thank you for sharing. Good luck!

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I have BCBS of Texas Anthem and they only required 1 Psych visit and 1 Dietician visit! :D

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Yep, I was able to move my surgery date up almost two months! Now scheduled for April 9th. I have BCBSIL.

Sent from my iPad using VST

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@ WhoozisAnyway....I haven't met Dr. Avera yet. I meet him for the first time Friday. I have heard some very god things about him.

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@ WhoozisAnyway....I haven't met Dr. Avera yet. I meet him for the first time Friday. I have heard some very god things about him.

I am sure you will like him a lot. He seems like a very compassionate and positive person. Do you still have to have a psych eval? SMSWC has a couple of psychologists they can refer you to, or you can pick your own. I went to a psychologist that a good friend of mine had used before his surgery. If you decide for any reason not to use one of their referrals, let me know and I'll message you the info.

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I have BCBSIL, but mine still requires a 6 month supervision. I'm ok with it. It gives me a chance to better prepare myself.

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I have BCBSIL, but mine still requires a 6 month supervision. I'm ok with it. It gives me a chance to better prepare myself.

I'm four months into my 6 months, and don't require the supervision any more so I'm moving forward. It was inconvenient to take a half day off work every month to go to the supervision visits. Furby, I'm surprised that you still require a 6 month supervision. If you go to the BCBSIL website, access the providers page, then go to medical policy and search for bariatric, the bariatric surgery policy doesn't require 6 month supervision. Is the 6 month supervision a special restriction put in place by your employer?

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I'm four months into my 6 months' date=' and don't require the supervision any more so I'm moving forward. It was inconvenient to take a half day off work every month to go to the supervision visits. Furby, I'm surprised that you still require a 6 month supervision. If you go to the BCBSIL website, access the providers page, then go to medical policy and search for bariatric, the bariatric surgery policy doesn't require 6 month supervision. Is the 6 month supervision a special restriction put in place by your employer?[/quote']

It is my employer requiring the 6 month supervision. At first I was upset but I really need the time to come to terms this is real.

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It is my employer requiring the 6 month supervision. At first I was upset but I really need the time to come to terms this is real.

Awesome attitude - it's real, and it's for life, and the prep is going to mean a lot. It's not a delay, it's just part of the process.

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Awesome attitude - it's real' date=' and it's for life, and the prep is going to mean a lot. It's not a delay, it's just part of the process.[/quote']

For me I have quit drinking soda, which was a big thing. I haven't drank soda in 6 months. It is hard but worth it. I have a hard time drinking lots of Water. I average 48 ounces a day. I still need to learn no Water 30 min before or after eatin. I still need to learn to chew food slowly. I think that is the biggest problem for me.

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@ WhoozisAnyway....I haven't met Dr. Avera yet. I meet him for the first time Friday. I have heard some very god things about him.

Dr. Eicke is the cheapest psychologist ($300.00) and he will be prompt with completing your psych! He is listed in the binder they give you at SMSWLC.

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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