I agree. I think the requirements would still be the same, regardless of if your employer pays or if you self pay. That shouldn't matter. I would imagine the only difference would be how much they cover and costs. Like my plan is through my job, so AmeriHealth will only cover 50% of the surgery cost and 50% of the surgeon's cost as long as the $2500 deductible is met. My boss has to pay for the rest. But that has no effect on my requirements. The packet I was given for AmeriHealth NJ was the most recently updated one they have for this year, but the girl in the office said if there were any changes she'd let me know ASAP. So I'd say for a couple classes, nutritionist visits and 1 psych evaluation, that's not too bad at all. No pre-op diet, sleep study, or anything else like others have had to do.