Hello all! Here is my ridiculous story involving the insurance end of things, and a few questions to follow.
Back in August, I made my first call to start the journey toward surgery. I had UHC at the time and they covered the surgery and required every darn thing on earth, except the 6 month diet prior to surgery. My plan with them was ending 1/31/16 because my employer switched providers. My entire surgical team, along with every Dr I saw during the process knew that I had a deadline. And it seemed like I had plenty of time.
Well, after many miscommunications, ball dropping, wrong fax numbers, etc my surgery was finally scheduled for January 27th. Talk about last minute! Well, to make it even more last minute, as I was being prepped for surgery at the hospital, everything came to a halt. Insurance still had not processed my claim. So they rescheduled me for 2 days later, and then 3 days later-they were willing to operate on a Saturday because they knew what a mess I was in.
Long story short, UHC left the claim as "pending," most likely because they knew my plan was ending and they didn't want to pay for it. Thanks a lot United!
Anyway, my new plan with Anthem Blue Cross California started today. And they require the six month diet. I've been dieting and working out ever since starting this journey, but it hasn't been documented because it didn't need to be. I've seen many posts online about submitting the claim anyway and it being approved without the diet, but all the posts seem to be quite a few years old. Has anyone had surgery through Anthem BC California recently? If so, what was your process like? Did they require the full six months documented diet? How long did approval take? Any information you can give me would be appreciated.
I'm hoping my Dr can explain the situation directly to Anthem and get an approval. This has been the most stressful 5 months of my life!
