Hi, I am new to this forum. I went to a Weight Loss Seminar on October 1st, as I am looking into getting the Gastric Sleeve Surgery, I have my first consultation with the surgeon on Monday, Oct. 6th. I will be going through the normal insurance hoops, so likely won't be until the spring when I will be able to have the surgery. I am wondering what the parameters are for this "supervised diet plan" that is required by the insurance company. Through my dietician and edocronologist I started a low carb diet back in June and my AIC went down from 11.5 to 7.2 by August. I didn't lose any weight on this diet, but my docs are very happy that my A1C has gone down so much. So would June be considered the "start" to my supervised diet plan?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Edited October 5, 201411 yr by missnaya

Since it was recommended, implemented, and followed up by a professionals, I would take every effort to make it count, especially if you have a six month requirement.

Oh, by the way.......welcome to the forum, where opinions and tact may vary. Take it for what it's worth, and never hesitate to contact your bariatric team. You and your insurance are paying them for a service. I wish you good luck and good health.

It really depends on your insurance. Mine required seven consecutive visits, one every month for six months, with the first and last visit being at least 180 days apart. For example: If your insurance is similar, it will only count June as the start of your supervised diet if you've gone once in July, August, September, and again this month. Then you'd also need to go back in November and have a final appointment 180 days after your first visit in June. My visits also had to be coded a specific way with my chief complaint being obesity.

So.. the best thing you can do is either speak with your surgeon's office or your insurance company directly to find out how picky they are about your supervised diet requirements. You might not have as many hoops to jump through, so it's definitely worth looking into at least!

• momohime I never thought of it that way. If that the case I won't be done with my 6 months supervised weight plan until February 2015 where I am thinking it will be done in January 2015 because my first weigh in was August 2014. I will definitely have to find out if this is the case; my insurance is BCBS. If this is true I won't have a surgery date until sometime in March 2015.

My insurance is BCBS of AL so I would think that our requirements would at least be similar if not the same. BCBS is one of the pickier insurance companies.. but the good news is that they covered almost all my medical expenses and I only ended up paying about $800 out of pocket (including all co-pays and whatnot). I felt like that was a positive, all things considered.

Still won't hurt to ask if you can count your previous visits.. but even if they aren't accepted, six months flies by quicker than you think! It'll be surgery day before you know it. Good luck!