I was just referred to a bariatric surgeon by my PCP last week. I reached out to my insurance company to see if the visit would be covered, which luckily I was told it would be. But I was wondering if anyone else has United Health Care and has been able to get approval for them to cover part/all your surgery? What was the process like? I'm hoping to get approved for surgery as soon as possible.

I have united healthcare (in Arizona) and used my insurance. visits were all covered with regular co pay. Documented diet for 6 months during which had to lose 10% of body weight, 1200 calorie diet, and see nutritionist once per month. Also had to see a psychologist once, get an ekg, Surgery was covered as an elective procedure 80/20. I had to pay about $2500 total. I hope that helps. ?

2 minutes ago, Changingmylife2020 said:

I have united healthcare (in Arizona) and used my insurance. visits were all covered with regular co pay. Documented diet for 6 months during which had to lose 10% of body weight, 1200 calorie diet, and see nutritionist once per month. Also had to see a psychologist once, get an ekg, Surgery was covered as an elective procedure 80/20. I had to pay about $2500 total. I hope that helps. ?

That is not a bad deal at all. Hopefully I can get my surgery that low bc if so I already have more than half of that.

Good LUCK!

I have UHC as well. My surgeon wouldn’t meet with me until I got pre-approved (they worked with my insurance). My first meeting with the surgeon was in late October and my surgery was Jan 14. I had to meet with a nutritionist once, do an endoscopy, and the psych evaluation. I was fortunate in that my company has a wellness program and I had been in that all of 2020. That wellness program had quarterly doctor visits and two meetings with a nutritionist. I had already lost fifty pounds prior to meeting with my surgeon for the first time so I didn’t have to do the 6 month thing with UHC. The endoscopy cost me around $650 and the surgery was around $2500 (including the surgeon’s part), although that may go up as I had to spend an extra night in the hospital because my white blood cell count wasn’t where my surgeon wanted it the afternoon after surgery. Keep in mind most hospitals allow you to pay part and then have a payment plan for the remainder (their biggest portion is going to come from insurance), so don’t be afraid of the cost component.

there can be a lot of variation even with the same insurance company. If it's through your employer, they can contract with the insurance company to include some services and exclude others - or do partial payment for some procedures and full payment for others. The best way to find out what exactly your policy covers is to give them a call..