I am really getting frustrated. When my surgeons office first called to check on my benefits they were told no prerequsites.. no psych eval, no diet, nothing...

Now they are demanding the results of my sleep apnea test, as well as 5 years documentation of my weight.

I got a form letter today, and it appears that they also require 6 months of dieting....has anyone NOT had to do this???

I am getting so flustered and frustrated. :biggrin:

I'll be honest, this is why you should always check your own benefits. When I called BCBS seven months ago, they directed me to the BCBSIL medical policies, which are planwide afaik. I'm not sure if this link will work for you since you had to hit accept and jump through hoops to get to it: BCBSIL/Provider Medical Policies on Fyiblue If that doesn't work, go to the bcbs site, go to provider library, then medical policies, and search for obesity. Surgery for Morbid Obesity should be the first one that shows up. At some point you have to hit a yes-accept which is why I"m not sure if the link will work for you. It sucks that you got misinformation from your surgeon's office, but you should probably always double check stuff like that on your own. I'll be honest with you though? The six months dieting (through a nutritionist who knew I was preparing for lap band and not just regular weight loss) was some of the most valuable time for me to learn and start to assimilate the changes I'll have to make. Good luck. - jen

Edited April 29, 200818 yr by lunanoir
none of my line breaks stayed in...

I'll be honest, this is why you should always check your own benefits. When I called BCBS seven months ago, they directed me to the BCBSIL medical policies, which are planwide afaik. I'm not sure if this link will work for you since you had to hit accept and jump through hoops to get to it: BCBSIL/Provider Medical Policies on Fyiblue If that doesn't work, go to the bcbs site, go to provider library, then medical policies, and search for obesity. Surgery for Morbid Obesity should be the first one that shows up. At some point you have to hit a yes-accept which is why I"m not sure if the link will work for you. It sucks that you got misinformation from your surgeon's office, but you should probably always double check stuff like that on your own. I'll be honest with you though? The six months dieting (through a nutritionist who knew I was preparing for lap band and not just regular weight loss) was some of the most valuable time for me to learn and start to assimilate the changes I'll have to make. Good luck. - jen

I'm just so bummed. I had myself all excited about this...now I feel BC/BS is jerking me around. I could just cry. Not to mention...I have a incarcerated hernia that HAS to be repaired...so I am going to have to do 2 seperate surgeries???? How insane.

Sorry for the terrible formatting, I have no idea why linebreaks keep disappearing.. - jen

I agree the 6 month diet thing went soo fast and was a great timefor me to learn all I could about eating and nutrition. I also read and read this site and soak in all I can, so I know what to expect. Like I said before the BC/BS il website is very useful. I would not expect as difficult as they are to get approved there would be any exceptions to the 6 month diet. Good luck. It does go by fast. I am on my 6th month on Wed!!! Tamara

I just finished my 6 months, didn't lose much weight though. But my surgery has been approved and scheduled