Jump to content
×
Are you looking for the BariatricPal Store? Go now!

Aetna...What did you do to get approved?



Recommended Posts

Hey everyone , I was approved today! Aetna tried to give me a hard time.... but my patient advocate with the bariatric center helped push it through! My date us Nov 3rd :)

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hey everyone , I was approved today! Aetna tried to give me a hard time.... but my patient advocate with the bariatric center helped push it through! My date us Nov 3rd :)

Congrats!! I'm hoping for the same results lol

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ok so my paperwork wasn't turned in on 10/10 they ended up sending them on 10/15 so it still pending!! :-(

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

@@Ladiec2, it says in the requirements that you can do either six months or three months, depending on who monitors your weight during that period. My surgeon is a center of excellence and having them supervise my diet for three months was sufficient.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I did the 4 month condensed deal to get approved.

1. Met with PC once a month

2. Met with trainer once a month

3. Met with Dietician once a month

4. Met with Psychiatrist once a month

These were all required by Aetna to hopefully get approved in 4 months rather than the 6 my plan normally requires. I did all of it and got a call from a nurse at Aetna telling me that they didn't have a weight history from 2 years ago. I had 8 years ago, 10, years ago, a few months ago and last year...all making a perfect case for me as far as weight is concerned. Thankfully, I believe this nurse listened to me, took it to her director, and consequently I was approved. Had surgery a week ago Wednesday and so far it's been awesome.

Oh ya, you cannot gain any weight during this time or you will be denied.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Ok I got the approval today.. I have to call in the morning to get my surgery date.. It only took 3 business days!!!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Hello,

I am in the process of starting my journey. I have my first meeting with the surgeon on Sept. 26. I have Aetna POS I am really nervous that they are going to deny me. Can anyone who has gotten approved by aetna tell me in detail what they did?

Hey! First off, congratulations on even making the decision to go through with the surgery.

I have aetna and I got approved in September. My surgery is scheduled for November.

With aetna they required a 3 month supervised visit with the NUT & NP.

I started that in June. I also had to provide my highest weights from two years ago, have a psych evaluation, which was the most boring thing ever, and a sleep study.

Aetna'so policy states that you can't have a net gain...AT ALL.

So when I had a weight gain of about 2-3 pounds I wanted to give up. My NUT told me they would write an explanation in my reports for that weight gain.

My sleep study test came back negative...which was a bittersweet thing.

My only real health issue was that I was borderline diabetic and that I had been overweight pretty much my whole life.

I surprisingly got approved about two weeks after all my paperwork was sent in.

So Aetna isn't always the big bad wolf lol.

Good luck!

Edited by yungshi

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

and.... they're still pending! it's been three weeks since i've been submitted. i just got aetna to agree to have their nurse call my surgeon's office to try to facilitate this happening. i've been calling at least once a week. frustration! if i have to have my date moved back yet again i will scream. i'm so stressed about this i have been eating, and i don't want to lose this whole thing by ending up having a net gain. frustrating! so happy for those of you who are having an easier time of this.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

and.... they're still pending! it's been three weeks since i've been submitted. i just got aetna to agree to have their nurse call my surgeon's office to try to facilitate this happening. i've been calling at least once a week. frustration! if i have to have my date moved back yet again i will scream. i'm so stressed about this i have been eating, and i don't want to lose this whole thing by ending up having a net gain. frustrating! so happy for those of you who are having an easier time of this.

I'm sorry it's taking so long but keep faith! Hopefully by this Friday you hear something positive! Wishing you the best

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I know the waiting is hard. Do you have any idea what the hold up might be? I know I will probably be having the same issues when my time comes and probably will be calling every day. Hopefully you'll be hearing something very soon. Good luck!

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

i finally got the approval late Friday, by calling the insurance company.

now i'm waiting on the surgeon's office to schedule me. and, yes, i called them Friday and today. :)

one more hurdle....

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

I have Aetna, too. Should have been submitted last friday. How long should I wait to hear about approval? Should i call the hospital, or wait?

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

@@cube68, i would call the insurance company to make sure they got everything they need first. following up with them seems to be the easiest to do, and doesn't annoy the person in the surgeon's office by continually checking. :)

when i got the word from the insurance company that they were waiting for additional information from the doctor, THEN i called the surgeon's office to faciliatate them sending the additional info. then back to the insurance company, yada yada yada.

does it help to do all this calling? i don't know, but it made me feel better than just waiting.

Share this post


Link to post
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

  • Trending Products

  • Trending Topics

  • Recent Status Updates

    • Doughgurl

      2 days until I fly out to San Diego to have my Bypass Surg. in Tiajuana Mexico. Not gonna lie, the nerves are starting to surface. I don't fear the surgery itself, or the fact that I'm traveling alone, but its the aftermath that I'm stressing about the most, after this 8 week wait. I'm excited to finally be here, but I am really dreading the post surgical chapter. I know its going to be tough, real tough and I think I'm just in my head to much now that the day i here. Wish me luck, Hopefully I'm one of the lucky ones, and everything goes smoothly. Cant wait to give an exciting update,. If there is anyone else have a June bypass or even a recent one, Id love to have someone to compare war stories with. Also, anyone near San Antonio Tx? See ya soon with the future me. 💜
      · 1 reply
      1. Phil Penn

        Good Luck this procedure is well worth it I am down to 249.6 lb please continue with the process..

    • LeighaTR

      I am new here today... and only two weeks out from my sleeve surgery on the 23rd. I am amazed I have kept my calories down to 467 today so far... that leaves me almost 750 left for dinner and maybe a snack. This is going to be tough for two weeks... but I have to believe I can do it!
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • Doughgurl

      Hey everyone. I'm new here so I thought I should introduce myself. I am 53y/o and am scheduled for Gastric Bypass on June 25th, 2025. I'm located in San Antonio, Texas. I will be having my surgery in Tiajuana Mexico. I've wanted this for years, but I always had insurance where bariatric procedures were excluded. Finally I am able to afford to pay out of pocket.  I can't wait to get started, and I hope I'm prepared for the initial period of "hell". I know what I have signed up for, but I'm sure the good to come will out way the temporary period of discomfort and feelings of regret. I'd love to find people to talk to who have been through the same procedure or experience before. So I look forward to meeting you all. Hope you have a great week!
      · 2 replies
      1. Selina333

        I'm so happy for you! You are about to change your life. I was so glad to get the sleeve done in Dec. I didn't have feelings of regret overall. And I'm down almost 60 lbs. I do feel a little sad at restaurants. I can barely eat half a kid's meal. I get adults meals often because kid ones don't have the same offerings at times. Then I feel obligated to eat on that until it's gone and that can be days. So the restaurant thing isn't great for me. All the rest is fine by me! I love feeling full with very little. I do wish I could drink when eating. And will sip at the end. Just a strong habit to stop. But I'm working on it! You will do fine! Just keep focused on your desire to be different. Not better or worse. But different. I am happy both ways but my low back doesn't like me that heavy. So I listened (also my feet!). LOL! Update us on your journey! I'm not far from you. I'm in Houston. Good luck and I hope it all goes smoothly! Would love to see pics of the town you go to for this. I've never been there. Neat you will be traveling for this! Enjoy the journey. Take it one day at a time. Sometimes a few hours at a time. Follow all recommendations as best you can. 💗

      2. Doughgurl

        Thank you so much for your well wishes. I am hoping that everything goes easy for me as well. We don't eat out much as it is, so it wont be too bad in that department. Thankfully. Also, I hear you regarding your back and feet!! I'd like to add knees to the list. Killing me as we speak! I'm only 5' so the weight has to go. Too short to carry all this weight. Menopause really did a doosey on me. (😶lol) My daughter also lives in Houston. with her Husband and my 5 grand-littles. I grew up in Beaumont, so I know Houston well, I will be sure to keep in touch and update you on my journey. I may need some advice in the future, or just motivation. Thank You so much for reaching out, I was hoping to connect with someone in the community. I really appreciate it. 💜

    • 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.

  • Recent Topics

  • Hot Products

  • Sign Up For
    Our Newsletter

    Follow us for the latest news
    and special product offers!
  • Together, we have lost...
      lbs

    PatchAid Vitamin Patches

    ×