Oopsseedaisy

You are on your way! Congrats! I am glad you felt well enough to post a status update!!!!!!!!!!

You have made wonderful progress!!!!!!!!!!!

Nice. And you are a shopper finding it on clearance too!

I so glad for you! I turn my paperwork in to UHC next week. I hope mine turns out as good as yours!!!!!!

Almost every tax question can be answered with ... it depends. It does not matter if you paid out of the country for medical care. What does matter is your diagnosis and is the expense a medical necessity? The following is straight from the IRS website. The colored portions deal with weight loss (which was not always on the medical expense list). Topic 502 - Medical and Dental Expenses If you itemize your deductions on Form 1040, Schedule A, you may be able to deduct expenses you paid that year for medical care (including dental) for yourself, your spouse, and your dependents. Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses, contains additional information on who will qualify as a dependent. You may deduct only the amount by which your total medical care expenses for the year exceed 7.5% of your adjusted gross income. You do this calculation on Form 1040, Schedule A in computing the amount deductible. A deduction is allowed only for expenses primarily paid for the prevention or alleviation of a physical or mental defect or illness. Medical care expenses include payments for the diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of disease, or treatment affecting any structure or function of the body. These expenses include payments for legal medical services rendered by any medical practitioner and the cost of equipment, supplies, and diagnostic devices used for medical care purposes. Medical expenses include insurance premiums paid for medical care or qualified long-term care insurance. The deduction for a qualified long-term care insurance policy's premium is limited. If you are self-employed and have a net profit for the year, you may be able to deduct (as an adjustment to income) amounts paid for medical insurance for yourself and your spouse and dependents. You cannot take this deduction for any month in which you eligible to participate in any subsidized health plan maintained by your employer or your spouse's employer. If you do not claim 100 percent of you self-employed health insurance deduction, you can include the remaining premiums with your other medical expenses as an itemized deduction on Form 1040, Schedule A. You may not deduct insurance premiums paid by an employer-sponsored health insurance plan (cafeteria plan) unless the premiums are included in Box 1 of your Form W-2. Medical expenses may include: Fees paid to doctors, dentists, surgeons, chiropractors, psychiatrists, psychologists, and Christian Science practitioners for medical care expenses Payments for hospital services, qualified long-term care services, nursing services, and laboratory fees including the incidental cost of meals and lodging charged by a hospital or similar institution if your principal reason for being there is to receive medical care Payments for acupuncture treatments or inpatient treatment at a center for alcohol or drug addiction are also deductible medical expenses. You may include amounts you paid for participating in a smoking-cessation program and for drugs prescribed to alleviate nicotine withdrawal The cost of participating in a weight-loss program for a specific disease or diseases, including obesity, diagnosed by a physician. In general, you may not deduct the cost of purchasing diet food items or the cost of health club dues The cost of drugs is deductible only for drugs that require a prescription, except for insulin Admission and transportation to a medical conference relating to the chronic disease of yourself, your spouse, or your dependent (if the costs are primarily for and essential to the medical care). However, you may not deduct the costs for meals and lodging while attending the medical conference The cost of items such as false teeth, prescription eyeglasses or contact lenses, laser eye surgery, hearing aids, crutches, wheelchairs, and guide dogs for the blind or deaf, and Transportation costs primarily for and essential to medical care that qualify as medical expenses. The actual fare for a taxi, bus, train, or ambulance can be deducted. If you use your car for medical transportation, you can deduct actual out-of-pocket expenses such as gas and oil, or you can deduct the standard mileage rate for medical expenses. With either method you may include tolls and parking fees You may not deduct funeral or burial expenses, over-the-counter medicines, toothpaste, toiletries, cosmetics, a trip or program for the general improvement of your health, or most cosmetic surgery. You may not deduct amounts paid for nicotine gum and nicotine Patches, which do not require a prescription You can only include the medical expenses you paid during the year. Your total medical expenses for the year must be reduced by any reimbursement. It makes no difference if you receive the reimbursement or if it is paid directly to the doctor or hospital. See Publication 502, Medical and Dental Expenses, for additional information. Weight-Loss Program [/url]You cannot include in medical expenses the cost of a weight-loss program if the purpose of the weight loss is the improvement of appearance, general health, or sense of well-being. You cannot include amounts you pay to lose weight unless the weight loss is a treatment for a specific disease diagnosed by a physician (such as obesity, hypertension, or heart disease). If the weight-loss treatment is not for a specific disease diagnosed by a physician, you cannot include either the fees you pay for membership in a weight reduction group or fees for attendance at periodic meetings. Also, you cannot include membership dues in a gym, health club, or spa. You cannot include the cost of diet food or beverages in medical expenses because the diet food and beverages substitute for what is normally consumed to satisfy nutritional needs.

Congrats!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So very happy for y'all.

GREAT news Nikki!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait until you can say the same for me!!!!!!!!!!

Welcome to VST Slim! Like you I have read so many stories that helped me decide that the sleeve will be right for me and very useful information for post sleeve too. Read and if you don't see what you are looking for just ask. Someone one here will probably have advice for you.

Prayers going up for you.

Best of luck. Please let us know the results. I will be sending paperwork in th UHC in about 2 weeks.

Wishing you the best of everything!!!!!!!!!!!

Congrats!!!!!!!!! Very proud of you -Keep up the GREAT job!!!!!!!!

That NSV was fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!! Have fun down under with a 2 piece. I will dream tonight about matching my skinny friends size, but a 2 piece is beyond even my dreams.

I am sending you all the luck I have at my disposal, but I will need it back in mid Feb. when I submit.

Great news Coops ... You are looking fabulous!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Great job ... over 100 lbs gone, WOW!!!!!! I love the part about your friend getting mad at your hubby!!!!!!!!!

Congrats!!!!!!!!! I am glad you are doing well!!!!!!!!!

CONGRATS!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wow, everything moved so fast for you! 66 pounds is incredible!!!!!!!!!!!

That is very exciting news!

Sending out prayers.

After I registered, I was assigned a case manager. After I talked with the case manager, I was assigned a behavior management specialist. The BHS gave me a list of two doctors with the office phone numbers in my area that were in network. I called and made the psych evaluation appointment then called the BHS back and she provided me with the authorization number. I went to my PCP for the supervised weight loss. He filled out a monthly worksheet that checks your weight, eating plan, exercise, and behavior modifications (like drinking sodas). I am going today to my PCP for him to sign off on the insurance form -which is a recap/summary of the 6 months on a single sheet. And to get a letter clearing me for bariatric surgery. I will go to my 6th support group meeting on Feb 15th where the coordinator will sign off on my insurance summary page. I think this will be the last of my insurance requirements! I sure hope there are no more surprises!

Good luck on your approval!

Let me start out by saying all UHC is not the same. The requirements can vary by employer. Have you registered as a bariatric patient with UHC? Your case manager will send a packet of requirements. There are some requirements not in the paperwork. For example you might need to get your psych eval pre-certified and go to someone with a doctorate (not a masters degree). I had to 6 months physician supervised weight loss and 6 months of support groups. I did not know this at first. So make sure you know so you can start them at the same time. Also both of these had to be consecutive months. If you miss a month you have to start over. I am sending my file to a doctor in Atlanta today. My current surgeon recommended Dr S Scott Davis Jr. I have not met him or been to his office yet. He performs surgeries at Emory Crawford Long in midtown. There is a VST member that has used this doctor and was very pleased.

Now all insurance is different. I have UHC -HRA and I have Individual sheets with the physician's signature on each page for six consecutive months and now UHC wants a recap/summary page also signed by the physician. I have an appointment tomorrow to get the summary page signed. Good luck!