AT&T Employees

[ACajunAnna 1]

Does anyone here work for AT&T and had their insurance pay for the lapband? I am a former Cingular Wireless employee and obesity surgery was excluded in 2005. Now that I am under the AT&T umbrella, I would like to know if surgery was excluded prior to 2008 (this might help in my appeal)

Thanks...:thumbup:

[thin2bme 2]

Hi Anna, I work for AT&T, I was formerly under the SWBT/SBC umbrella and just recently in the last couple of weeks had my lapband surgery pre-approved thru UHC. I see the surgeon tomorrow. I would think being part of AT&T now should qualify you for surgery. I believe the qualifying factors are a BMI >40 and/or 2 co-morbidities. I also had to submit 5 years worth of doctor's records showing that I've been overweight for the last 5 years and have tried to lose weight. Definitely appeal.. Keep me posted. Hope this helps.

[LosingIt08 0]

Heyyy..

I am an ATT employee too, formerly Cingular. (We will have to make our own little AT&Ter group.. lol) I am not sure if you are a bargained or non-bargained employee (I am a manager, non-bargained ... meaning not in a union)

I have UHC. When I called they said the requirements were a BMI 40 or higher and 5 year documented morbid obesity.

My Doctor ordered many tests before they were asked for. I am sure this is becuase they know what they are doing and what the insurance compnies will ask for with approvals. They said UHC generally takes about 30 days.

I had the following done prior to submitting to insurance:

EKG

Chest Xray

Bloodwork

Nutrionist Evaluation/Consultaion

Psychiatric Consultation

Surgeon consultation.

I am currently still waiting on approval I believe they submitted 2/13. Keep in touch! I will let you know what happens. In the bloodwork process I found out that I have Diabetes and I already knew that I had Polycysitic Ovarian Disease so I do have 2 co-morbitites. The nutrionist is actually the one that pointed that out... not MY PCP

[salgoud42 0]

Just wanted to let you know that I am having a major issue with the 5 year documentation for morbid obesity. Here's the issue:

This is United Health Care’s interpretation for AT&T’s criteria:

Covered Person must have documentation of a diagnosis of morbid obesity for a minimum of five (5) consecutive years from a Physician;

This is what is actually stated in the AT&T document:

Covered Person must have documentation of a diagnosis of morbid obesity for a minimum of five (5) years from a Physician;

No where in the language is the word ‘consecutive’ mentioned.

[thin2bme 2]

Salgood, just saw your post. How are things going with your insurance approval. I work for AT&T and didn't have any problems at all getting approved.

[thin2bme 2]

I'm bumping this thread up, for AT&T (Cingular) people who are being denied WLS surgery.

[lvbnamom 0]

I am so glad I found this website. I just got told that my current insurance (BCBS of ILL/Dobson) does not cover WLS. I never in my wildest dreams thought I would find so many at&t employees talking about insurance.

At&t bought the company my husband worked for (CellularOne by Dobson communications) and he got promoted to Store Manager, however our insurance is still through Dobson. Eventually it will be through at&t......

So I have a question, do they require the 6mos of documented weight loss supervision?

Thanks to all who have responded already!

Danielle

[MargieM 0]

Interesting.... I called UHC twice and they stated they require a BMI of over 40 and 5 years of documented weight history. Well, I didn't have 5 years of document weight history (because I didn't have check-ups every year) - so my PCP wrote a short letter stating I had been under her care for five years and have had a BMI of 40+ - and tried other methods, ie, WW, losing weight. The Lap Band doctor's office is reviewing my info and will submit. I don't want to go thru all the tests without it being approved. So, I will keep you all posted.

I think it's our job as employees to push to be approved...

Edited June 4, 2008 by MargieM

[ACajunAnna 1]

What I have found from this site is that with all of the different groups of employees that work for AT&T, each has its own different insurance policy.

I work for Legacy Cingular, now AT&T, in Louisiana, and UHC has not covered my group for any type of weight loss treatment since 2004. I was told that it can only be changed when our union contract is renewed in 2010.

Since your husband is in management and not likely to be bargained (union), he will be under a different insurance all together. In my state, the manager's insurance also does not cover WLS.

Good luck and let me know if you have any questions.

[HappyCamper 0]

I'm a retired AT&T formerly SBC employee in California. I was told by my surgeons office that I need the five year weight documentation from my PCP. While was fighting to get my records (they couldn't find my records for a while), I got a letter from UHC saying I was approved. I couldn't believe it. My surgeons office called to verify and sure enough, I was approved. I had my surgery last July, and it's the best thing I've ever done.

[tonyadavis_1123 0]

Hello all

I am so glad I found this site. My husband works for at&t. And he is union. Also he just started working there 3 months ago so we have not got insurance yet. When we do will I have to wait a while before I can apply for the surgery? We live in Wisconsin. Before we got married I was on state insurance and was denied the surgery. Does anyone know if I would be covered under my husbands insurance for WLS?

[ACajunAnna 1]

Welcome.

You will need to wait until you get your insurance cards in the mail from UHC and then call the number on the back to find out if you are covered. I have found out that every division is different. I am bargained, in Louisiana, and we are not covered. Our contract is currently being rewritten, it has to be approved by June 30, to take effect on January 1. So far, it doesn't look like the new contract will cover any type of weight loss surgery. There is talk of increasing premiums by 540% and lowering the coverage. I've resigned myself to being self pay

Good luck to you, I hope that you can have the surgery soon.

[thin2bme 2]

I'm surprised to see so many AT&T employee's and/or spouses that found this website after I bumped it up.

Tonya, I would think that your husband's insurance should cover you once your insurance goes into affect as long as your policy includes WLS. My husband keeps telling me he wants to have the surgery and I know his insurance will not cover him (he works for the fire department) so we will have to use my insurance being secondary for the surgery. I'm hoping whenever he gets his behind in gear and gets his paperwork in that they will cover him, I wouldn't see it being a problem for the spouse as long as WLS is covered on your policy.

[tonyadavis_1123 0]

Thank you Terri and Anna for replying. I am working with my doctor now. I went in to see her yesterday and she perscribed me a weight loss pill untill my husbands insurance kicks in. I have another question. How do we know what policy to get that covers WLS? We are both new to the insurance. Thanks :sad_smile:

[thin2bme 2]

At AT&T you are given the option of United Health Care (which is what I have) and I believe there is an HMO that you can choose from. When you are given the options when the insurance kicks in just review the information that is given to you and call the insurance companies to verify if the surgery is covered. Since United Health Care seems to cover some of the AT&T employees like myself, that is probably what you'll want to choose, but be sure to check with the insurance companies before making your choice. Hope this helps.