Hello everyone. I'm new to this and am very nervous about this whole thing. I have been seeing my primary doctor for years about my weight and have tried numerous diets and pills thru my doctor. I have UMR for insurance but they go by the United healthcare choice plus guidelines for bariatric surgery. I have received different answers from different representatives through my insurance place regarding the 6 month diet requirements. Does it need to be consecutive? How far back can those 6 months go? Does it have to be doctor supervised or can I show weight watchers logs? My surgeon office initially told me it doesn't have to be consecutive and can go back 2 years. But I was just doing some reading and saw that some people with this same plan had to have consecutive visits and within the 6 months prior to the authorization being sent in.

Does anyone have any experience with this?

1 minute ago, NurseJaci13 said:

Hi Matcha -

This is the insurance I have as well, I have my first meeting with my nurse case manager later this week. I was wondering if you have heard back about your approval?

Not yet, but I expect to hear this week. I had to really push hard to get the surgeon's office to submit with my existing documentation. They wanted me to go through the 6 monthly visits that seem to be common. Keep on top of them!

1 minute ago, Machta said:

Not yet, but I expect to hear this week. I had to really push hard to get the surgeon's office to submit with my existing documentation. They wanted me to go through the 6 monthly visits that seem to be common. Keep on top of them!

Okay, good to know. In our educational meeting, my surgeon seemed to think most of us with UHC get through in less than 3 months (it's the most common insurance in my state)...usually, around 8 weeks, which is fine (the office makes us do some nutritional coaching, meet with a psych, and join a support group, so I'm good with taking a bit of time to get through that while I wait).

Keep us posted!

GOOD lUCK

my friend ?

Update: I had my first appointment with the surgeon's assistant on April 30, at the height of the Covid stuff here in Colorado. I started to assemble records from my PCP and my endocrinologist, and checked back with UMR regularly. As of yesterday June 16, I have preapproval. Now I'm waiting to be scheduled. All in all, about 6 weeks from first appointment to preapproval. It was key to have all my documentation from my PCP (20+ years) and endocrinologist (10+ years). Good luck, all!