Which comes 1st ?

I hear people saying that they hope they get approved

Do you have all the required test etc.......before approval or afterwards?

If not who covers the bill if you are denied

I would think that the 1st choice is for the doctors to see if you are coverd by insurance before putting you thru all the hassle & appoints

Any one has the answers

Future sleever: I called my insurance company before hand to see if I was approved : my next step is a seminar I would simple be upset to go thru all the hassle to find out at the end of the day I been denied

Weight loss surgery being covered by your insurance is NOT the same as being "approved". Generally, you have to do all the tests and assessments before getting approved, and your surgeon has to submit a request for approval to your insurance, with documentation of everything you have done in order to meet the criteria to be approved for surgery. . With all of my pre-op stuff, insurance covered the tests and stuff, but I still had my copays, deductibles, etc to meet.

Before I called the bariatric clinic, I read the benefit plan provided by my insurer, which said that they do cover weight loss surgery but not plastics. When I made that first call to the clininc to set up an appointment, I was told that the insurance coordinator would confirm how much my plan covered. I got a call back with an appointment date. After I completed all of my plan requirements (3 month nutrition and medical tests) all the data was faxed to my insurer for final approval. It was approved in two days along with a guarantee of five nights stay at the hospital. Surgery was three weeks later with two night stay- so in all, it took four months from first call to surgery date.

My first step was contacting my insurance company to make sure there was no exclusions and what their requirements were. After that, I contacted the surgeons office, had the seminar, psych and nut appointments etc. The actual approval was one of the last things i checked off my list.