Hi everyone. I'm new here. I'm considering either gastric bypass or sleeve. I have my very first appt with a surgeon on 10/5. I'm hoping my insurance will approve me. I have Empire bcbs. Does anyone else have this insurance? Any advice to get myself approved?

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The best way to find the requirements for your surgery is to go to the web site for your policy and search "bariatric" to see what comes up. There should be policy guidance which lists the requirements. Some require a history of trying to lose weight (doctor's records can be enough), others require a monitored weight loss plan - often your surgeon's office already knows the requirements because they do this.

Do make a list of questions you want to ask your surgeon. Consider bringing a trusted relative or friend with you to the appointment. My first consult was 3 hours and had to be done after attending an informational seminar at the hospital. There was a lot of information to digest (no pun intended) at that first meeting, so having another set of ears around doesn't hurt.

best of luck.

Thank you for the advice!

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57 minutes ago, Lovely77 said:

Hi everyone. I'm new here. I'm considering either gastric bypass or sleeve. I have my very first appt with a surgeon on 10/5. I'm hoping my insurance will approve me. I have Empire bcbs. Does anyone else have this insurance? Any advice to get myself approved?

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I agree with Diana_in_Philly. You should go online or call to see if your policy covers the surgery. I called mine and when they said it was, I asked if there were any pre approval hoops to jump through. For me, I had to have 3 months of a supervised diet with my PCP. Most insurances require 3,6,or 12 month supervised diets. You will also have to have testing, lab work, and appointments with psych and a nutritionist. It usually winds up being a year long process.

Another good thing to do is research everything you can on both surgeries. This site sells 2 books I found helpful. One is all about the sleeve and the other is about bypass. They have a ton of information and helped me decide what to do. I had the gastric bypass and love it!

Its also a good thing to start weaning off soda or any carbonated beverages, junk food, sugar, pasta and rice. This will help you start slowly into your new lifestyle change and may help start your weight loss.

Good luck on your journey! Keep us posted!

Thank you so much!

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I have empire bcbs and I'm expecting my approval any day now. 3 months of weights is all I was told I needed. I'm curious where were you looking at going?

I'm probably going to have it done in Middletown. How about you? I hope all they will require of me is 3 months! I've heard of people having to wait 6 months or even a year!

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