Has anyone been apporoved by bcbsil. If so how long does it take for them to apporove lapband. I was denied for lack of information :w00t: !

Yes i have the same ins got my letter sat. Haven't talk to True rusults yet. It only took a week after it was sent in .I put the 9th i have my dates wrong

I was told there is a diff depending on if you have Blue Cross Blue Shield IL ~ PPO or HMO. Suppose to be easier to get approved with HMO. I called and was given verbal approval and now waiting on my letter to verify in writting.

I have PPO I got a verbal also. Before i started.

Has anyone been apporoved by bcbsil. If so how long does it take for them to apporove LAP-BAND®. I was denied for lack of information :crying: !

Hi Tiff, yeap sirree bob, that's exactly what I have, BCBS of IL, mine is PPO and I was approved in exactly 2 weeks, 1st time.

I hate it when I hear someone is denied because of something like your lack of info.:wink2:

At the risk of offending you or others,IMHO, this is most likely someone at your surgeons' office dropped the ball when sending your paperwork to BCBS. I talked to a rep at BCBS and she was very clear what was needed for approval.

You can call BCBS yourself and get a better explaination so you can move forward.

But on the otherhand, I did read somewhere that those people at the insurance companies have to decline a % of summitted requests for pre certification. :w00t: If that's the case, that would explain why people who are denied the 1st time,are easily approved the 2nd time around.

Keep us updated on how this all turns out for you, we are rooting ya !!!!

I was approved by BCBS of Il. in one week by phone after the paperwork was sent in.

I also have BCBS IL PPO and was approved the first time:thumbup:

the surgeon sent a letter of medical necessity , a year and a half of weight loss visits ( even though i only needed 3 months ) a letter from my Internist - because i do not have any co-morbidities, my most recent EKG - normal and my surgeons consult note. In all honesty i was very surprised to get my approval so fast with in a week because of all the worries stated on this site. I would ask for a copy of everything that your surgeon sent in and then call BCBS and see what else they need . I personally get a copy of all of my medical records when ever i do anything - :wink2: Good luck with your journey --

I get banded November 17th :w00t:

Thank you so much i hope that i get apporoved !

My approval was easy breezy.

I agree with someone above who said it was lilely the surgeon's office error.

BCBS-IL has changed their guidelines and it is a pretty easy process. I was approved in less than two weeks after my paperwork was submitted.

It can be fast and easy or forever with BCBS of Il.

It took me over two years and 100's of pages of documentation. My physician would go over my weight watchers logs day by day and make notes about the food choices and my activity on every single one of them and they still told me it wasn't good enough documentation. A letter from a lawyer was the trick for me.

I really hope you are lucky and have a quick approval. All I can say is call the BCBS rep. and do exactly as they say - write everything down and repeat it every time you see your physician overlooking your diet and activity levels. You have to show that you are progressing every visit. No falling off the horse I was told or they think you will not be able to follow your band "rules".

Ask your surgeon if they sent BCBS every single page you submitted to them - I have heard that they can lose things or just not send them in.

Good luck and do not give up!