ok well my hubby and i went to the initial consultation last week..... we were told that we are both candidates as far as our BMI is concerned and they did our initial visit , scheduled us for sleep study and for our first of 3 more appts that are required for our insurance to cover the procedure. I find myself very excited,. anxious and eager to have the procedure done. I am just wondering if we should NOT get our hopes up until we get ins. approval????

what do you guys think?

Edited December 8, 200916 yr by ready4nume

I'd be cautious. Insurance companies can be weird and even though you qualify, you may get denied. Doesn't mean you can't appeal and then get approved, just know that it's a possibility.

I don't think you can help getting your hopes up. Well, at least for me, as soon as I started seriously considering this and realizing that I might actually be able to get to a healthy weight permanently this way, I couldn't help getting my hopes up.

But, yes, you do need to be realistic that it may be a battle w/your insurance company. It will take some time... maybe a few months, maybe a year or longer. One of the first things I recommend that you do is find out the specifics of what your insurance company requires for you to qualify for the surgery. If you need to stay a 40 BMI, don't lose any weight! You may also need some weight history (mine required weights from the past 2 years w/a BMI high enough). Actually, this is where, technically, I did not qualify w/my insurance company (Aetna). My weight from 2 years ago was too low because I was having some success on WW at the time. So, I actually knew going in that I would be denied the first time. But, I appealed twice and finally gained approval.

So, I say get your hopes up, but also get ready to fight your insurance company (if they give you trouble). If they do ask for weight history, only provide your highest weight from each of the years back that they ask for. If you provide anything that does not meet their criteria, they will automatically deny you. BUT, just realize that every time you appeal, somebody else looks through all your stuff so it is not a lost cause to keep trying.

There's nothing wrong with being hopeful. If your insurance won't pay and you really want it, you will find a way to get it. :thumbup: