Hello! Im new to Bariatric Pal. I am trying to get some information on CHAMPVA and if they covered your surgery. I Was truely wondering how long the attempts to lose weight before had to be. I have tried many diets in the past and never successfully kept weight off or lost more than maybe 10% of body weight. I have one attempt on record with my doctor of like 3 months ... and maybe one of a month. Im wondering what everyone else has had and been able to get approved for. Im afraid i go thru with the surgery and get stuck with a huge bill cause CHAMPVA doesnt want to cover cause i didnt have accurate history. Thank you In advance!!!

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I wanted to give everYone who goes looking for info on chanpva an answer. I found out that there is no pre-approval, all you have to have is a bmi of 40 or greater or a bmi of 35 to 40 with 2 Co-morbidity such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease. You also need to have proof that you have tried under a doctor's care to lose the weight with a diet plan such as weight watchers. Other than that you can have the surgery tomorrow and it would be covered.

Hi, Im new here, this is actually my first post. I have CHAMPVA as my only insurance. I am also confused by what they mean by doctor supervised weight loss. I tried weight watchers, 21 day fix, keto, etc.. Ive been to a nutritionist a few years ago, but I didn't go to the doctor very regularly for them to "supervise" So I am also worried about getting denied. May I also ask what surgery you had?

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I am also posting for the first time and have only ChampVA for insurance. Any helpful info or tips would be highly appreciated. I mainly need to know about the medically supervised weight loss attempts and what that may entail. Wanted more info before I even attempt to make my first appointment. Went to a seminar at my preferred hospital and now just need to make a phonecall to schedule my first visit...

Hi everyone! Sorry I'm late to the game here. I, too, am on CHAMPVA and have filed a claim for weight loss surgery through them. My packet has already been submitted through my surgeon and now I'm waiting on my surgery date to be picked. Since CHAMPVA doesn't require pre-authorization, all I could do was submit everything they wanted and then hope that they actually approve it after the surgery. Which totally sucks. But what else can I do? The insurance lady at the surgeon's office advised me on how to do the 1 year weight loss attempts and I'll tell you all what I did with her help. She advised me to take the year prior and break it down month by month and detail as much as possible what I had done each month toward losing weight. Since I had already been keeping track of that with my mother-in-law through emails prior to this, it was easy for me to go back and remember what I had done. Let me give you all some examples:

January- Like many people, I made New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and started off the year cutting back on sweets, carbs and trying to move more. My mom and I tried walking to the stop sign at the end of our street, but it wasn’t long before we both hurt our ankles and had to stop. My psychiatrist put me on Topamax to help with my appetite.

February- I chose to have a non-candy Valentine’s day with my family as part of my commitment to a healthier year. I also sat down and thought out some ideas on how to make better food choices for my family. Over the next few months, I began to implement those plans. To start off with, I started making sure I had fruit and veggies prepped and ready to go in my fridge and on my counters for myself and my family to grab anytime they wanted.

March- I joined the local YMCA. I went a few times and every time I injured myself, even when I just walked on the treadmill. My hips would ache, my ankle would hurt for days, it was just unbearable. My massive weight just prevents me from doing everything I want to do for myself. This month, I began packing my son healthier lunches for school and for myself, I started making myself eat a higher protein breakfast which is a meal I would often skip before.

This is what my letter looked like, right on through December. My letter continues to detail how I gave up sodas, switched to brown rice and cut out white rice, went to the nutritionist, etc. I don't know if it was the right way to do it, or if it will help any of you, but I thought I would share what I was advised to do and what I did. Hopefully it will be approved.

Good luck to you all!

To that_prime_mom:

What happened with your claim? Did ChampVA approve surgery?

My Wife has ChampVA and has been trying to lose weight for 20 years, but has never succeeded- knee surgery, chronic pain... tried weight watchers twice, keto/atkins, many types of diets, but always failed. She has many chronic health issues.

But she has never reported to a doc each month with any kind of “supervised plan”. It was more like the doc/docs constantly told her to try to lose weight and made suggestions for what she could do, but something always derailed her attempts— she had her gallbladder removed for gallstones, couldn’t exercise because of bad knees, has to take anxiety/depression meds which CAUSE weight gain, etc.

I know my wife can’t succeed on willpower alone; bariatric surgery is her ONLY chance.

So, did you convince ChampVA without a huge paper-trail of doc visits? Was it enough to just “write a letter”?

I’m praying my wife doesn’t have to spend 6 months trying to diet again, only to fail, and be crushed once more, all while being “medically supervised” by her doc.

to that_prime_mom, How did that work out for you on the detailed info on the diet , I am too wondering . My primary care insurance will not cover any weight loss surgery. I have ChampVa for my secondary insurance. I have tried for several years to lose this weight and have no real luck. I would loose 10 pounds or so and then would stall. I did weight watchers all last year after the 1st time my doctor recommended me and well here I am back heavier than before. I didn't pay to go and did it all on my own. I also cant succeed on will power alone. I am also hoping not to be crushed again with another 6 months. also my doctor as noted anything i have tried. Thank you