:)Can some one give some idea as to how long it took for their insurance to approve the Lap Band Surgery? (I meet all the criteria to have the surgery)

Thanks

hi kay kay

it depends on what kind of insurance you have.

mine took six months. cause of all the requirements i needed before they would approve me.

Oh my, 6mths? I have BCBS.

I know that insurance companies are different as day and night. If you don't mind me asking, was you suppose to me monitored for at least a two year period (noting that you were being treated for Obesity and unable to maintain weight loss)

Kay Kay,

I have BCBS TX and I found out in 5days. My friend also found out in 5days but we both called our insurance to check on it.

i to have the same insurance and yes i needed 6 month medically supervised diet. plus what ever else the doctor wants you to have done. but no 2 year monitoring and they just wanted a 5 year diet history

I started the process on August 1 and got my approval on Dec 11th. This is mainly because the office that contracts with my surgeon kept not getting the faxes from my general physician that showed my weight for the last 5 years. They didn't even call me back and tell me that they didn't get the info. I had to keep calling them, and then finally I talked to my surgeon's office and they were pretty ticked off at the company that does this for them. Otherwise I would have had my approval in October. I got my band Dec 21!

I have BCBS federal. I started in August 07 and was approved in October. I was initially denied, probably within a month, then took almost 2 months to gather my letters of support from all my docs. Then I wrote 2 letters of appeal to BCBS, 1-medical, 1-emotional. My surgeon forwarded the entire package to BCBS and I received my answer back within a week! Then I had to wait 3 months for my doctor to schedule me. It has been a frustrating experience, but I'm happy to report that I am scheduled for surgery Jan 4th.

If anybody needs sample appeal letters, I'll be more than happy to share.

Suzanne

I have BCBS of GA. My info was submitted on 12/17/07. I called the insurance around the 19th or 20th was told they received all 15 pages. But that they take 7 to 15 business days but can take up to 30 days at the latest I should hear back by 1/24/08.

I am planning to call them today again, but as I understand it is the holidays I might wait depending how desperate I feel to call or not.....

ok...who was I kiddin'

I couldn't resist....I called my insurance

The customer care rep promised to give me a call back....

the precert dept had a long call hold time...she said will have her manager send an email to the precert rep's manager that has my paperwork and will give me a call back by 2:00PM....

yikes....I think I just made it worst....

you better bet I will be calling back by 3PM If I don't hear from her.....:phanvan:tired

in the meantime..

It took me about 2 weeks.

It only took me 3 business days.

well im going my 5th visit of 7. i hav e bcbs of alabama state. they want a 7 month diet program from a doctor. and plus i have to get a few other things done. so in feb. i will be visiting for my 7th time. and i hope it dosent take long after that. it has been a long 5 months so far but its going to be worth it in the long run.

paperwork ent out Nov. 7 approved Nov. 15 UHC Choice Plus Texas LOVE THOSE GUYS

I had the insurance experience from h**l!! I started the process in April '06. My insurance company (CIGNA) required 6-month doctor supervised diet, among other things. I finished jumping through hoops in Febrary '07. My first rejection was in April; my 2nd in July; my 3rd in November. DON'T GIVE UP!! I refused to. My husband contacted the VP over benefits at his company. He contacted CIGNA and was able to put me in contact with a customer service representative. Finally....a person to talk to. I found out that the 3rd denial was due to my doctor stating that I had a sore throat at one of my 6 month doctor supervised diet visits. In the nurse reviewer's opinion - this meant the visit wasn't dedicated to my weight loss effort. I raised h**l with the my new friend (the customer service rep) and she appealed it to the medical director. It took several more weeks and weekly phone calls (by me) but I finally got approved and had my surgery on 12/21. I will tell you - this is your surgery and you have to take the initiative - don't take "no" for an answer. The insurance companies try to see what they can get away with and count on you giving up and self paying. Good luck!!

There is a group on Yahoo called something like Bandsters Insurance. They keep records of how long each insurance takes. You might want to join and check out their info, tables, etc.. Once I had completed all my doctor's requirements and they submitted it, my insurance approved it in a few business days. I was extremely impressed.