I was told by my doctor's office that I won't qualify for insurance coverage because I was below 35 BMI for a year. That year I was on a supervised drug/diet and did lose weight but never got below 33 BMI. I read on Gary Viscio's website that he has an early intervention plan that I would like to participate in. I figure if I get an attorney involved now it will save me a lot of heartache in the long run (fingers crossed!)

I have emailed Viscio Law and called. It has been over a week and I have not gotten a response to my email. When I call, I get the message that the box is full.

Any suggestions? Am I wasting my time?

I would have to say it really depends but you can check into it further before adding the expense of a lawyer. You should save a little money and do a little footwork on your own first.

Can you read the section in your insurance policy explaining their bariatric surgery requirements? Perhaps the insurance company can lead you to it on their website or send you the information directly. Look to see how it is worded, if it clearly states that you must have documented weight over a certain BMI for a specific time frame, it may not be worth the fight. You should also see if it is must be a consecutive term over the BMI range or just in general. Depending on the language in your policy and how far back your weight records go, perhaps it can be argued that the year with a bmi below 35 shows you can follow a program successfully but you can not successfully maintain the loss.

Also, what kind of doctor told you this? If it is a general primary care physician who deals with multiple insurances all the time, there is always a very good chance that they do not know your specific policy well enough to make that statement because insurance requirements vary amongst insurers and even within providers depending on coverage levels. It is impossible for a general care physician to know every variation in policy.

However, if you were already referred to a surgeon and their office staff followed up on your specific policy requirements, this holds a lot more Water and may truly indicate that coverage is not available.

Please keep us posted on what you find out. Good luck.

I read on the Obesity Help website, that Gary passed away a few weeks ago. I don't know much more than that, but I know lots of people were wondering why he wasn't responding to emails/calls, etc., and come to find out he died. Just thought I would pass that on.

Amy

OMG! that is terrible. I am so sorry to hear it. Do you know what happened?

I was told by my doctor's office that I won't qualify for insurance coverage because I was below 35 BMI for a year. That year I was on a supervised drug/diet and did lose weight but never got below 33 BMI. I read on Gary Viscio's website that he has an early intervention plan that I would like to participate in. I figure if I get an attorney involved now it will save me a lot of heartache in the long run (fingers crossed!)

I have emailed Viscio Law and called. It has been over a week and I have not gotten a response to my email. When I call, I get the message that the box is full.

He DIED..Sorry read it on the internet