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I have to agree. Definately better to be safe than sorry. Go to the Hospital.

Medicare starts their coverage changes usually in October. So hopefully by then there should be some new information coming out.

This is the response I received from the Cigna representative. Hi Tracey The requirement for the physician directed weight loss is six continuous months, with documentation done monthly by your doctor of the current weight, diet program and physical activity. Our authorizations department would look for approximately two years of weight history in order to make their determination. If you have any further questions, please don't hesitate to let me know. You can also review our coverage position on bariatric surgery at http://www.cigna.com/customer

I have Cigna insurance. They require 6 months of a supervised diet. My question is this, I first saw my diet doc on march 10th. Would 6 months be Augusts 10th or Sept 10th? :tongue_smilie: Any help would be greatly appreciated. My surgeon's office won't make an appt with me until Insurance is approved unless I want to pay for program fees up front. And if Ins doesn't cover There is no way I can afford surgery for at least another year. I know its splitting hairs but i would love to get the ball rolling here. Thanks in advance. Tracey

Thank you Stephany48463. That is what I suspected. I think after my appt next week I will have my PCP send everything to the surgeons office and see if they'll submit with 6 visits. I also have all of my weight watchers note for the last 5 months too.

Thanks, I get the math, but to look at some peoples responses on other boards it's not actually clear if its 6 office visits or 26 actual weeks on a supervised diet. I actually saw the Doctor a week before I started the diet.

Good luck to you both and hope you have a speedy easy recovery.

Where I am in Florida you do need the comorbidities with BMI of 35 or need a 40 BMI. The surgeon requires the psych eval and Nutritional appt(only one). But he does not require documented diet attempts. He also requires a liquid preop diet of 2 weeks for all is patients(to shrink the liver before surgery). Hope this helps.

Congratulations on getting your date. Keep us psoted.

I know it's frustrating to have to reschedule but it's better to not have a complication after surgery because of the infection. Keep up the good work with the exercising and the time will fly by. Keep us posted.

Like everyone else, I can so relate. I went to the information session on 3/3/10 and have thought of nothing else since. I am doing my 6 month diet that is required and I need about another month and a half. I want to have everything set to send hopefully by the second week in September. I have had my nutritional consult. Tomorrow is my Psych eval. I have a cardiologist appt next month (the nurse at the bariatric office said I will most likely need cardiac and pulmonary clearance since I have High blood pressure and sleep apnea and asthma). So those are scheduled and ready to go. My husband is really supportive and wants me to do whatever I think is best. But, I can tell he get tired of the "when I have surgery______" commnets. So I try to tame it down a bit. These boards certainly help. Good luck to you.

Congratulations, Glad to see you are doing so well. I hope I am not able to eat as much as you at 5 weeks out but you seem to be doing great. Keep up th egood work.

Welcome, and good luck. I know this board has been keeping me sane for the last 4 months while I get me supervised diet out of the way. It's great to see everyones progress and reinforces that this is definately the right choice for me.

Congratulations. Keep us posted.

congratulations and good luck. Keep us posted.

Yeah, how exciting. Can't wait to be in your shoes. Keep us posted.

Congratulations How exiting for you. Keep us posted.

Good to hear you're not giving up. You'll do great. Good Luck and best wishes. Keep us posted.

Great news!:thumbup1: How long did it take to get your approval? I am hoping to have my paperwork ready to go the first week of September. At least that's when I will be done with the six month diet.

BonBon I am right there with you. I am not a junk food craver, just a food aholic. I love good food in quantities that are way too huge. It's like I have no Full button. I haven't thought of my last days before I start my preop too much. I'm still in month 4 of my 6 month diet. But this has made me think about it. You know, maybe it's not necessary to have that Last Supper, Since in a few months I'll be eating smaller quantities of the healthy foods I enjoy. Thanks for sharing that thought. Tracey

Good luck and Keep us posted!

Good Luck and Congratulations!

Good Luck! Keep us posted.

I am having the same issues. I am doing Weight Watchers and hate that each week they ask me what I'm doing wrong. Not comfortable telling them I'm eating the same as always so I don't loose too much. But I really would like to lose some since it's summer. I just don't want to get below the BMI threshold for surgery approval. Very frustrating. I'll be keeping an eye out to see what anyone else has experienced.

Medicare's new coverages and policies and payment guidelines usually go into effect in October. It definately helps that the sleeve has a cpt code.