does anyone out there have this kind of insurance?? How hard is it to get the surger with that?

You are going to hate this response. Tricare has EXcluded LapBand surgery. They will approve you for Gastric Bypass, but won't cover Lapband. There are a few recent posts on Tricare - do a search and you can see everything that we have found out. Right now I am trying to get approved at a MTF, they are doing the LapBand at a few locations, but so far, they will only do it on people that live within the city limits of their facility and you must be over 50 years old? I haven't figured that one out yet. Please read our previous posts and let us know if you find out anything different. I have my fingers crossed that Tricare will follow suit soon and approve it like all the other government insurances have done.

Good Luck!

What is MTF

opsgal,

I've been through everything with Tricare with no luck...I was denied but expected it. I had to pick up additional insurance through my work. I didn't want an inusrance company to determine what I should do with my body.

Good Luck!

MTF = Military Treatment Facility (Hospitals and Dr.s offices on base/post/installation,etc.)

Good news, my consultant informed me today that tricare has officially approved the band.

Did you consultant at your WLS Center tell you that or did a Tricare person tell you that? I hate to get too excited - but I am. I have to say, my WLS center told me it was covered and then they wait until the week of your surgery to tell you the insurance denied it. Please, please, please tell me it was a Tricare person that told you this? Please :-)

No my consultant told me this. When I first went to see her she told me tricare did not cover it. I went through the beginning stages of my testing in the program and then she just called me and told me she got word that tricare just approved coverage of lapband.

OMG! I am so freakin excited. I am calling tomorrow. You are an Angel and you made my whole year! Thank you so much for posting this and letting others know!

Who is saying that the band is approved? I really hope it is true. I have e-mailed one of their benefit people at the headquarters and am waiting for their reply. Their is no posted change for the manual that has come out as of yet. I check those daily and the last one was #62 on sept 28 this year. I can only hope this time it is real.

Sincerely,

Don

I just called Tricare and they are showing it still excluded, CPT 43770. The lady said, there have been no updates to their system since September. Hopefully they just haven't done an update yet and the system will be updated soon, but she said right now it is excluded.

I was banded August 1st 2007 at Walter Reed army medical center

I would like to know if anyone that has had the lapband had medicare for their insurance and did medicare cover lapband surgery and all the oputpatient doctor visits pavery52

I am a service connected veteran and the va has just started it's bariatrics program called : THE MOVE PROGRAM at some va hospitals.

Since some va hospitals will accept some veteran's spouses why shouldn't they take you? You could ask I guess....wouldn't hurt.

I suspect that you should call champva, tricare or your local va facility. The program has been implemented at Larry Pettis (Loma Linda) va and either Little Rock va or Jackson, Ms.

Good luck

Don't believe that TriCare has approved the band unless you hear it from a TriCare person (more than two or three times at that.) If someone tells you it is approved, get their name.

My mother is trying to get banded through TriCare. She calls every Monday. As of about 9:15am CST this morning, it was still excluded.

She has found somewhere between 4 and 6 MTFs that do the band. I don't know how long the waiting lists are but they're through part of next year already (from what she has told me, I have not called them myself).

Saw the VA mentioned as I'm 100% and use the VA...they aren't worth the drive! Move is a joke...but makes the dept happy they can SAY they have a program. I went to Mexico and was banded. Too bad the VA won't compensate me now I no longer need the meds for the comorbids I had... I'm saving them a ton of money!

oh well, I'm glad I took the step and got the band on my own.