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I am writing this to help those whom have United Health Care. Here are the following things to know and tips:

Before reading these tips, contact UHC for confirmation that Bariatric surgery is covered under your plan. Confirm the requirements. Confirm that your surgeon and his associated hospital is In-Network (if they are not, it will be like paying for the surgery without insurance). Make sure you have an understanding of what the insurance wants to see or have done.

1) You are eligible if you have a 40 BMI or Higher / Greater than 35 BMI with Co-Morbidity.

2) Once you find your surgeon, you will have to do 6 months worth of testing, dieting and education.

3) You will have to make 6 visits (once a month). This does not include your consultation.

4) One of your visits will be with a Psychological Evaluation. This will determine your surgeons view and the insurance company's view of your case. They take a look at your mental and emotional health. They ask about your family and your support systems. They may ask you how you feel about yourself. Stay away from the negative views you may have of your body. Understand that they have seen hundreds of people like you and may have some prejudice in regards to whether you will succeed or not. Remind them that you are a person, not a statistic and bring some human to your discussion.

5) Your surgeon may require you to keep an eating and exercise journal. I use MyFitnessPal and I have a FitBit.

6) You will be asked to do an EKG to see how strong your heart is.

7) You may be asked to do a sleep study. Depending on your surgeon, it can be a requirement. In my case, the insurance company denied it. They did not deem it as a necessity.

8) You will have to do an Ultrasound which is to see if you have any issues with your liver (fatty liver disease) or other organs.

9) The next thing is an endoscopy. This requires you to head to an outpatient clinic, be sedated and have a tube stuck down your throat. I learned that I had an hiatal hernia (where part of the stomach enters the diaphragm). This can cause you heart burn. Be aware of H. Pylori. This is a bacteria that can cause ulcers and heart burn as well. It takes a lot of antibiotics to cure. Be mindful that your throats will be sore and some sharp pains may occur as they most likely scrapped some samples from your digestive tract.

10) In between these visits, you will see an dietitian and nutritionist for further help. They will slowly walk you through changing your eating habits. Be honest with them. It is very important in the long run. Also try to keep your weight lost in small amounts. If you lose too much in a short period of time, the surgeon and insurance company will feel like you can lose the remaining weight alone.

11) Your last visit will consist of an overview. The surgeon will check your weight and may discuss further with you about your feelings towards the surgery. Hopefully you are approved by the surgeon. My surgeon was great during the process. I met with him more times than anyone else. He literally kept giving my information and sites to read to understand this tool.

12) They will then submit your information to the insurance company. Now it can take up to 2 - 6 weeks for approval. I was approved in one week.

My fellow UHC Members, I hope this assist you in your endeavors. 6 months will fly by so quickly you won't even realize it.

Remember education is the key to success.


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To: soon2bethin17
I had a 6 month nutrition appointments, psychological evaluation,
Needed 1O% of weight gone. Im very slow to lose because of my age. I have HB, type 2 diabetic, I feel I'm active I walk 5 miles 5 times a week. I do struggle to lose weight.

Sent from my LGLS990 using the BariatricPal App

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To: soon2bethin17
I had a 6 month nutrition appointments, psychological evaluation,
Needed 1O% of weight gone. Im very slow to lose because of my age. I have HB, type 2 diabetic, I feel I'm active I walk 5 miles 5 times a week. I do struggle to lose weight.

Sent from my LGLS990 using the BariatricPal App





I am a slow loser as well. Mines come from having severe Endometriosis in which I take hormone blocking medication. I explained all of this to my surgeon and he made sure to add it to the reasons why the surgery would be needed. My suggestion is to call UHC. Have a list of questions available and start drilling them on what are the requirements, what happens if you cannot reach the weight lose requirement but come close. It is important to keep a track of whom you spoke with. Call multiple times to confirm the answers.

UHC was pretty consistent when it came to me. Also read up on your plan. The better you understand your plan, the easier it is to deal with the insurance company.


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3 hours ago, Grerchen57 said:

Thanks for the heads up. Also have you had your surgery yet?

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No, I am not scheduled to have my surgery until March 26th. I am very excited about it. I will post as I go.

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37 minutes ago, Grerchen57 said:

I feel Im never going to get a date. But I understand the need to wait

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How long have you been you trying to get approval?

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19 minutes ago, Grerchen57 said:

Sept. 2016

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Your last visit should be March. I am sure you will be approved. Positive thoughts. It will work out. I know it seems so far but it is next and time is flying by.

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I have UHC and my requirements were different except the 6 months of appointments were the same. I didn't need nutrition appointments, ultrasound, or EKG but I needed the sleep study because my neck measured more than 17.
I also had to register in UHC's bariatric program. It's very dependent on your individual insurance plan and surgeons requirement. I started in June and had surgery in Dec. It took 7 days to get my approval.


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    • BeanitoDiego

      Tomorrow will be 7 weeks since surgery. Yesterday i found that I was able to finally drink more than a sip at a time. I am SO grateful! I have always loved drinking water and it has been my primary beverage for most of my life; losing the ability to drink a lot of it was my first post-surgical regret. Being able to drink more than a tiny sip at a time makes me feel so much more normal.
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      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
    • BlSm12

      Does anyone know, how long it takes for Medicare to approve surgery?
      · 1 reply
      1. aravenclawrebel

        I think it depends entirely on what guidelines you're being referred under. I had that kind of insurance through the state as a low-income person for 10 years and even though I was over 400 lb for 10 years they denied me. All based on the fact that I did not have diabetes. I switched insurances once I was offered a different kind of coverage from work and was approved within two months

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    • Longview Lady

      PS: Also, the 'My Surgery' section of my profile - how do you edit/update that section??  I want to put my height, weight, etc. there but can't find edit button.   
      Can someone help me with that?  
      Thanks in advance.  
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    • Longview Lady

      I'm new here and unsure how to reply/respond to people. Guess I'll figure it out, or maybe you can help me a lil. lol.  A lil direction would be nice.
      I'm still wrapping my head around having this surgery to lose weight. I have completed all requirements, in 2022, and now it's a waiting game.  I missed a call in Aug. to have the surgery. 1st call I have missed in years and it had to be THAT one!   I was so upset at myself and then fell back back that weekend to my ol' comfort food; ice cream.  I fall from time to time but then get backup on my Johnny Wayne Saddle and do better. 
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      · 4 replies
      1. New To This23

        Has anyone messaged you and helped?

        If you go to the top of the page and click on your user name there will be a drop down that will allow you to do things from there. The interface on this site is a little wonky and could use some improvement, basically, you'll kinda have to click around until you find what you want to edit/update.

        I tried adding stuff to my albums and it uploaded the same things twice and I can not delete the duplicated picture. If you add a ticker and later you want to update it, like you lost more weight or you're closer to a certain goal, you have to go through the whole ticker choosing process again. The site can be a little frustrating.

      2. NCL04321

        you dont have to go through the whole ticker thing again. Just click on your name then surgery then click on progress. There you can change your height and weight. The weight will carry over to the ticker

      3. New To This23

        Thank You @NCL04321

      4. NCL04321

        yay! i see you added the info! Easy right?

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