Can somebody please tell me how long It takes for an approval from Cigna once everything is submitted to them? My surgeons office submitted mine this past Wednesday. I know it hasn't been long at all but I am super anxious and just curious as to how long it norm takes. Thanks in advance

5 hours ago, julie1978 said:

Can somebody please tell me how long It takes for an approval from Cigna once everything is submitted to them? My surgeons office submitted mine this past Wednesday. I know it hasn't been long at all but I am super anxious and just curious as to how long it norm takes. Thanks in advance

I don't have Cigna, but I was anxious waiting only after 48 hours. I first called my surgeons office and spoke to the woman who takes care of all insurance matters. I did this every other day for about 2 weeks. I kept getting the run around, so I finally called my insurance company. Within about 20 minutes on the phone with them, I found out everything I needed to know.

Just be vigilant and keep on top of your surgeons office. Don't think you are being annoying or bothersome. Your Doctor works for you. Good luck and keep us posted!

Good luck

I do and it was less than one week for approval

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I have Cigna and approval took 5 business days from the day it was submitted.

Mine was submitted to Cigna on a Thursday and got approval the following Tuesday.

My case was submitted on July 3rd (right before the holiday this past week) and was approved by Friday. So if you take away the 4th of July, it took them 3 days to approve.

My case was submitted on July 3rd (right before the holiday this past week) and was approved by Friday. So if you take away the 4th of July, it took them 3 days to approve.

I don't have Cigna, but I was anxious waiting only after 48 hours. I first called my surgeons office and spoke to the woman who takes care of all insurance matters. I did this every other day for about 2 weeks. I kept getting the run around, so I finally called my insurance company. Within about 20 minutes on the phone with them, I found out everything I needed to know.
Just be vigilant and keep on top of your surgeons office. Don't think you are being annoying or bothersome. Your Doctor works for you. Good luck and keep us posted!
Good luck

This is so encouraging to hear that so many with Cigna were approved so quickly! I also have Cigna and have been really anxious about how long it will take them to approve.
I was supposed to have my 4th (and final) NUT appointment today to get my clearance so they could submit to insurance, but my coordinator called Mon. and told me I'd have to have my final NUT appointment on or after July 28th in order for it to meet insurance requirements. So frustrating! Now I have to wait until July 31st (when my final NUT appt is now) before they can even submit to insurance!
I'm on a tight timeline because in addition to working full-time, I also attend graduate school. Classes start back on August 28th and I've got to drive 90 mins to get there. So I've got to have surgery by August 21st at the very latest. Still, that's optimistic considering I'd only be one week post-op. Just hoping it all works out.

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I am also very encouraged to see that Cigna is so quick to approve. My final NUT appointment is 8/3/17. My surgeon's office has called me twice this week to touch base and to let me know that once I have that appointment things move fast.

Just an FYI for those of you who have Cigna Open Access Plan. I called yesterday because I have been very concerned about having an In Network Anesthesiologist. I could not find one associated with the hospital I am using. I was thanked for being so proactive the CSA was so surprised. I said I have been stuck with a large bill before when an Out of Network (OON) provider was used and I don't want to be surprised again. This was what I was told. So many anesthesiologists are OON these days and hospitals will schedule who they want anyway. That it WILL be OON and billed as such. Because its such an issue, that once I get the invoice for the remainder I need to call them with the Invoice information and they will call the Anesthesiologist billing office and negotiate to settle for what has already been paid. Therefore I will never see that invoice again an no more out of pocket for that. I was pleased for the first time when dealing with insurance. [emoji16]. Good grief, I hope that made sense!

Ta Rena

I have Cigna Open Access as well. My last NUT appt is this Mon., 7/31. My surgeon's office says Cigna approves pretty quickly for Gastric Bypass patients - about 5 days, but they have up to 2 weeks. They said Cigna has approved in as little as 2-3 days before. Apparently approval for the sleeve takes longer (up to a month).

Hey Ready4theday! Good luck tomorrow with your last NUT appt. Please let me/us know how your approval with Cigna goes. I've gotten everything crossed for you.

I also have Cigna. Have you heard anything from your insurance ? I'm trying for a revision band to RNY. I'm so nervous. What did your insurance require ?

I have Cigna & they gave me 30 days to have procedure. My surgeon was booked up so it was right at the 30 days!

I posted previously on how excited to hear Cigna is so quick to approve. Its been a week since my case was submitted so I call the automated system to get the pre-cert status. STILL PENDING. I request to talk to an operator and find out that they are waiting on clinical notes for 6 months. First off aren't clinical notes automatically sent with the file and 2nd I was only required 4 months of supervision not 6. I'm awaiting a call back from surgeon's office. I hope Cigna just gave me a canned answer and its not truly the case. FRUSTRATED!

Ta Rena

So sorry to hear you're having so much trouble! I was fortunate to get my approval from CIGNA quickly. Everything was submitted by my surgeon's office on a Thurs. and I had approval by the following Wed.

After hearing about all the people who have had trouble with insurance approval, I went ahead and stayed on them- both my surgeon's office and insurance! I called my insurance company to make sure that they had everything they needed from my surgeon's office. Then I called back a couple days later to clarify how long it would be for approval. They said it was with the nurse to approve and that they "technically had up to 30 days" but that it didn't usually take so long. By the next afternoon, I had my approval!

All I can advise is to stay on them both. You're paying them to do this, after all!

FYI...it ended up taking 8 days total. So not horrible. Just getting a runaround was the bad part. I am 6 days post-op now. Had the RNY, gallbladder removed, and liver biopsy for good measure. Very painful for 2-3 days but each day has shown significant improvement. Hang in there everyone.

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Did anyone gain weight during the required 90 day nutritional appointments and have problems with Cigna?