Aetna

[LaKimmie 30]

My doctor said to start 'harass' calling after 7 days to see if they've approved early. It happens!

I'm thinking I will def do that!

[PerezL84 66]

My docs were submitted today and they have me booked for surgery on Jan30th. I have to admit I am sort of nervous. I got a billion things to do and I am just stress. >_<

[enuff_is_enuff 126]

My docs were submitted today and they have me booked for surgery on Jan30th. I have to admit I am sort of nervous. I got a billion things to do and I am just stress. >_<

Perez, you will be fine. Dont stress out too much. Once you get your approval all will be well!!

[PerezL84 66]

Thank you for the support. Hope it is @enuff

[enuff_is_enuff 126]

Thank you for the support. Hope it is @enuff

You got it all the way!

[JPSnAZ 33]

Aetna also has a 3 month program...was that an option? Maybe it's a different plan??? I only had to do 3 months before my band and this time for my sleeve.

What exactly did you have to do for the 3 months? Is it just a 3 mo pre op diet? or is it different, doing "surgical prep"(whatever that entails) & stuff? My BFF has aetna and we were confused when trying to read the requirements...

[vogue 310]

I too chose the 3 month option instead of the 6 month way... the difference is basically twice the amount of medical visits to various providers in a shorter amount of time... between logistics and and red tape, it was still 5 months between my info seminar ( March 29) first consultaion (April 17) until my actual surgery ( Aug 30) ... would've been longer but my surgeon had a cancellation....

my advice would be to schedule EVERYTHING early if you can... when I called for Psych appt, I was told there was a 3 month waiting list.... that could've pushed my date back a LOT but then, again there was a cancellation... I was a PAIN IN THE BUTT calling everyday trying to get squeezed in where I can.... I scheduled all of my future NUT appts at the same time,sometimes on the same day as my weight mgmt classes as these were usually in the daytime hours & I didnt want to keep taking days off work ..

anyway, back to your original question:

http://www.aetna.com/cpb/medical/data/100_199/0157.html

Member must meet either:

criterion 1 (physician-supervised nutrition and exercise program) for 6 consecutive months

or

criterion 2 (multi-disciplinary surgical preparatory regimen)..

3 weight management classes, 2 NUT classes ( one private, one group) plus pysch visit...

I did 1 Weight mgmt class per month and for 2 of those months I also had one NUT class each)

if you have receipts for 3 months of consistent gym membership payments, Aetna accepts those as 3 months weight management classes....

[vogue 310]

Oh and the weight management class... basically, they told you a bunch of crap you already know...eat less, smaller portions, exercise 20+ mins 3 times a week...

you were not required to lose weight but you self-reported any gains or losses and certified that you tried... you were asked to bring in a food journal for a typical day or 2 and they asked you to share & discuss what you couldve done better and what were you goals for the next month's class....

[lilbuddhaxo 20]

I have Aetna as well and I am so nervous I won't be approved. They have all this criteria before they approve it and when I tried speaking to the dr. Office they just kept saying "well take care of that" like ahh what does that mean! I have a date set and have been going to my appts and if I do not get approved I will be furious! Also with work I just can't keep switching things around which is another reason I am freaking out. Do they not even attempt to get approval until after all my appointments? I have secondary insurance which this dr seems to have a problem billing so I always get stuck paying then submitting a bunch of paperwork. This is like an insurance nightmare!!