I got my dr approval on Friday. I know he has to submit to my insurance co, at least that is what I think happens. How does the process normally work? I know my insurance covers it if approved by your dr and he said I am definitely a candidate as I have been at this weight for about 6 years now. I hope I don't have to wait months to get an answer if I can for sure get it.

Anyone care to share how they got to the point of surgery and when you found out you could get it done?

I was self-pay, so I'm not an expert or anything. But in the interest of giving you an idea I will try to answer your question. I'm sure that more people who are more knowledgable will come along soon.

It will all depend on your insurance company and what they require. In more cases than not they will require certain documentation that you have tried other supervised weight loss programs in the past and were unsuccessful at keeping the weight off. If you have such documentation in place already that will speed the process up. They may require an additional medically supervised program for further documentation. This is where the waiting game begins because when you submit your doctors letter to the ins. company they will come back with their list of requirements for approval. Testing is usally a part of this as well, such as sleep studies, upper GI, blood work, and psych evaluations. After all of this, the insurance company can still come back and NOT approve the payment. If that happens, you have the right to appeal and you should. I've heard of quite a few that were approved but only after an appeal or two.

Best of luck to you.

I got my dr approval on Friday. I know he has to submit to my insurance co, at least that is what I think happens. How does the process normally work? I know my insurance covers it if approved by your dr and he said I am definitely a candidate as I have been at this weight for about 6 years now. I hope I don't have to wait months to get an answer if I can for sure get it.

Anyone care to share how they got to the point of surgery and when you found out you could get it done?

I got approval in about 2/3 weeks from United Healthcare once it was sent to them.