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Worried about insurance. Empire blue cross blue shield.



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Hello I am new to the forum. I am pretty worried about my insurance covering my surgery. I have Empire BCBS -NY- and I just did my seminar. My first consultation is Wednesday and I am very anxious. I did my first of six doctor visits needed for my insurance and I weighed in at 227 making me just above 40 BMI. My doctor has been very helpful and listed my comorbities as knee pain, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. I know my weight and comorbities should be enough but I don't know if it matters that although I do have high blood pressure and high cholesterol it's not high enough to the point that I need to take medication. Has anyone had a similar situation where they had comorbities that weren't severe enough for medications? Also I'm 21 years old.

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Here is a link to your health plan requirements: https://www.empireblue.com/medicalpolicies/policies/mp_pw_a053317.htm

If your BMI is > 40, it doesn't matter about your comorbidities. Maintain your weight and you're fine.

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Here is a link to your health plan requirements: https://www.empireblue.com/medicalpolicies/policies/mp_pw_a053317.htmIf your BMI is > 40, it doesn't matter about your comorbidities. Maintain your weight and you're fine.

Thank you for your reply, I get so anxious because it would break my heart to have to wait 6 months just to get denied. Especially because I just hover around 40 BMI :(

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Hello I am new to the forum. I am pretty worried about my insurance covering my surgery. I have Empire BCBS -NY- and I just did my seminar. My first consultation is Wednesday and I am very anxious. I did my first of six doctor visits needed for my insurance and I weighed in at 227 making me just above 40 BMI. My doctor has been very helpful and listed my comorbities as knee pain, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. I know my weight and comorbities should be enough but I don't know if it matters that although I do have high blood pressure and high cholesterol it's not high enough to the point that I need to take medication. Has anyone had a similar situation where they had comorbities that weren't severe enough for medications? Also I'm 21 years old.

I'm going through the SAME thing as you. I do have a different insurance company though. My current BMI is at the lower end of the BMI range that qualifies for coverage. I was worried about having to do the 6 month supervised weight loss because I wasn't sure if the insurance company would pay if I fell out of that BMI range. My dietician told me that if I get close she will help me maintain the weight so I can get coverage.

With all the appointments & test this whole process sort of feels like a part time job. ????

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Hello I am new to the forum. I am pretty worried about my insurance covering my surgery. I have Empire BCBS -NY- and I just did my seminar. My first consultation is Wednesday and I am very anxious. I did my first of six doctor visits needed for my insurance and I weighed in at 227 making me just above 40 BMI. My doctor has been very helpful and listed my comorbities as knee pain, high cholesterol, and high blood pressure. I know my weight and comorbities should be enough but I don't know if it matters that although I do have high blood pressure and high cholesterol it's not high enough to the point that I need to take medication. Has anyone had a similar situation where they had comorbities that weren't severe enough for medications? Also I'm 21 years old.

I'm going through the SAME thing as you. I do have a different insurance company though. My current BMI is at the lower end of the BMI range that qualifies for coverage. I was worried about having to do the 6 month supervised weight loss because I wasn't sure if the insurance company would pay if I fell out of that BMI range. My dietician told me that if I get close she will help me maintain the weight so I can get coverage.

With all the appointments & test this whole process sort of feels like a part time job. ????

I know what you mean, I try to think of it as I spent most my life over weight I can wait another 6 months but it's hard to not have a little negativity, especially knowing the tricks insurance company's like to play!

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      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
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    • 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.

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        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

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