I waited until 8:30 and called my insurance. They will cover lap band if my BMI is 40+ or 35+ conditions.

I am 37.4 (6'2" 290 )+ sleep Apnea, Type 2 Diabetes and HBP

Found Dr Halmi and he works out id INOVA fairfax and both doc and Hospital are in network.

I think the only thing I am missing is to see if the anesthesiologist is in network or not.

after finding all of this out I called the Doctors office and made an appointment next Monday @ 2pm for the first appointment.

What are some question I should ask? What can I expect from talking to them?

thank you,

Robert

You should probably check if your doctor runs an info session - most programs require that you attend at least one. I have been to two -at two different doctors and they were quite different, but both very informative. I have my first appointment with the dietician (first step for my doctor) 2nd week of September. Yay! Good luck.

As them how the band works, what size they typically use, how much saline they hold, what the recovery time is, how much time off of work, pain control, where they place the port, incisions....all of those types of questions. I am happy for you. Good luck.

I notice that from the time you first go in to the doctor until the time you have the opperation is a long time ... what is the time frame roughly?

Thank you all for your support so far everyone

Its different for every doctor and insurance company. Some insurance companies require 6 month diets, some doctors require you to see a psych dr some dont. That is a great question to ask your surgeons office.

I have federal bcbs it was only about a month from my first phone call to my surgery. I am very thankful to God for this quick turn around after seeing what so many others have had to go through to get approval.

Good luck!