Hello everyone. Im getting ready to see a dr. About bariatric surger and I'm interest to know how long it took to get approved by your dr and insurance (i have BCBSTX)???

It's really going to depend on your insurance company and their requirements. What does your insurance require for bariatric surgery?

They req bmi of 40, phsych release and agreement of post op regiment and diet.

That is what the med policy says and i called to make sure there was not grp req notes on my policy.

Edited July 5, 201610 yr by dklentz01983

Im more worried about the dr making jump thru hoops to get this. Can drs require more of you that what your ins requires?

Those were the same requirements I had, though my surgeon also required an endoscopy.

My first appointment with the surgeon was 4/28, did the psych and nutritionist visits on 5/2 and was all but cleared for surgery at that point. Endoscopy was scheduled for 6/6 (my surgeon only does them one Monday per month), and I was approved by insurance on 6/7. Pre-op appointments on 6/9 and surgery was 6/15.

I know this is a person question but can i ask what your bmi was? Mine is 40.3. I feel like i should gain some more weight. I know they put you on a liquid diet for preop and that will make me lose weight and be under the required bmi the day of surgery.

BCBS-TX is my provider as well. The approval process took six months because of their requirement of receiving psychological and nutritional counseling - the former was only a couple meetings but the latter had to be once-a-month for six months. It was frustrating because I did all my research and due diligence so once I had my appointment with my surgeon, I was mentally prepared to have it done within a week or two but had to wait six months. Having said that, the counseling sessions were valuable and I learned a LOT about eating, what to expect, how to prepare, etc - I just wish I'd known about the process taking six months for insurance approval when I started down this road.

BTW, my surgery is tomorrow.

BCBS-TX is my provider as well. The approval process took six months because of their requirement of receiving psychological and nutritional counseling - the former was only a couple meetings but the latter had to be once-a-month for six months. It was frustrating because I did all my research and due diligence so once I had my appointment with my surgeon, I was mentally prepared to have it done within a week or two but had to wait six months. Having said that, the counseling sessions were valuable and I learned a LOT about eating, what to expect, how to prepare, etc - I just wish I'd known about the process taking six months for insurance approval when I started down this road.

BTW, my surgery is tomorrow.

Thank you for the info. Very helpful. And congrats BTW im so jealous.

I know this is a person question but can i ask what your bmi was? Mine is 40.3. I feel like i should gain some more weight. I know they put you on a liquid diet for preop and that will make me lose weight and be under the required bmi the day of surgery.

I was at 41.6 I think. But I also made a conscious effort to gain about 10 pounds before my consultation to ensure I was over that line. They used the weight from my first appointment.

I know this is a person question but can i ask what your bmi was? Mine is 40.3. I feel like i should gain some more weight. I know they put you on a liquid diet for preop and that will make me lose weight and be under the required bmi the day of surgery.

I was at 41.6 I think. But I also made a conscious effort to gain about 10 pounds before my consultation to ensure I was over that line. They used the weight from my first appointment.

That is where I am at. I felt the need to gain 8lbs to put my bmi at 40.7 for my appointment with my pcp to get my referral in for wls. I am going for my information class on July 12 then I get to schedule my consultation.

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How did yall gain weight. Im just eating a bunch of junk but i feel there a better option. Did anyone use weight gainer shakes?

Oh I just ate all of the food I knew I wouldn't be able to. Lots of food funerals.