Hi. I’ve just booked a private appointment for August and wondered if anyone can tell me if you still need a referral letter from your gp please? Thanks

This is going to depend on your insurance and your surgeon. Your best bet is to call the surgeon’s office and ask. They should be well-versed in insurance requirements and tell you what the surgeon requires as well.

My surgeon required an authorization from my primary care doctor before I could schedule a consult. My surgeon also requires you to call your insurance provider to see what their specific approval process is for surgery.

Hi,

I haven't had my surgery yet, but 8 encourage you to go ahead get your primary doctor's approval for the bariatric surgery. My surgeon gave me a form to give my primary doctor. I would also directly talk with your insurance company. One more thing...find out if your insurance company offers a support program that matches you up to one support person there to be your advocate. I learned about this last winter and I now have a support person who works for my insurance company and who now listens to me, advocates for me, and even streamlines things when red tape is causing trouble. It's been a blessing, for sure. It's free. I just had to know about it and ask for it. I hope this helps.