Hello All,

I have decided that I want to have the surgery. My issues are I do not know where to begin. I still have a lot of unanswered questions and was hoping this site would help with that. I want to know how does this process start? I am going to my primary doctor next month and wish for her to recommend me getting this surgery with hopes that United Healthcare will cover it. My issue is do I wait or do I contact a surgeon. I think I found a good surgeon but I wonder about how long is the time span between the time you have your first appointment to how soon the surgery takes place after? I guess I am wondering will I be waiting a few days, weeks , months or years help......

Depending on your insurance company, it could be months or a year. Things like whether a supervised diet are required, etc will affect the timeline. There is a forum here for specific questions about insurance companies and their requirements. Perhaps you should explore that forum and see what other folks have experienced from UHC.

Good luck!!

Change: I needed to get a letter of recommendation from my primary care physician but I had already researched the bariatric center I was going to use. There is quite a wide range of experiences with different programs & insurance companies so all I can offer is that it WILL be a process. I would suggest that you find a "bariatric center of excellance" - it is a rating that the industry awards itself - where there is psychological & nutrition & surgical support all under one roof. Good luck on your journey !

@change....my doctor did not have to write a reccommendation.All insurance companies are different. Make sure that you all your insurance company to see if they can refer you to someone. You can also ask them if they will approve it as well...Happy Hunting! There is also a insurance forum....you can look there for info as well!@Spatter3.my insurance company would only pay for a center for excellence....I was happy about that!

You've chosen a great forum to get your answers! I have Anthem BC/BS. I called them and asked if they paid for weight loss surgery. They sent me an envelope and told me what to do. (My insurance does not require a referral from my primary physician). My insurance required me to participate in a 12 month counseling program. I hung in there and I'm 16 days away from surgery! Good luck!

P.S. if you want to look up a specific subject, there is a search box at the top of the forum page. Just about every topic to do with the VSG has been covered here.

Hey @ change, I see that you live in GA. I started my process with Titus Duncan and love the support of their practice. I would suggest that you start the process asap so you can start with testing and the approval process.. When I first started, I was told immediately that I needed a 6 month diet - because a coworker had the surgery done there and they looked at her file.

Good Luck!

UHC is pretty good. I just contacted the surgeon and they had a semi at I went to- that'll lay out everything for you. Good luck