Hi, my name is Lori and I am just starting to look into all of this. I have Blue Cross HMO and can in no way affort to pay for this out of pocket and would have to have it approved through BC to be able to move foward with it.

I do have a big question, how do they calculate the BMI, the reason I ask that is because if it is just based on the paper chard I fall at about 33.5 but when I use the machine that sends a current through your body and that one comes out at 39.2. Now at that point I would be willing to actually gain weight for the purpose of getting it paid for.

I have tried my whole life to loose weight and I yo-yo up and down and have been on Weight Watchers now for the past 3 years and have played with the same 30 pounds that whole time and cant seem to get under 200

I am currently 216 lbs, 5'8" and will be 35 in 6 weeks...I live in Orange County CA and just dont know where to go from here. :think

Well my insurance covers BMI of 40 or 35+ 2 co-morbidities i.e. high blood pressure, sleep apnea, heart problems... but I will tell you what they told me, regarding your finding 2 different BMIs for yourself. They told me that insurance companies will always use the chart that gives you the lowest BMI. So if your co. is like mine (medical mutual of ohio) they will use the lower BMI for you, which would be a bummer!! But I would suggest you call them and ask them to calculate it for you, they should be able to do that on the phone for you. But you could always just find a BMI calc. online and see what that one says. I hope your search leads you down the path you hope for. Believe me, there are hoops to jump through, and more red tape than you care to think about, but in the end, it will all be worth it.

Have a great week!!

I just found out that Billie's last day at Dr. Hoehn's office is this Friday.

The standard for calculating BMI is (weight in pounds*703)/height in inches squared. You can also visit online calculators like this one.

Your BMI registers as 32.8. Unless you have two or more significant medical issues related to your weight, you're probably going to have a tough time getting insurance to cover your surgery.