Nat0526

Congratulations! How long did it take for you to get approved? I have Horizon Blue Cross Blue Shield of New Jersey. They received all of my information on September 24th and they tell me it is still in review. I am getting so nervous that I will not be approved.

Hi Anxiously Awaiting...

My surgeon's coordinator said she faxed my paperwork to BCBS on September 24th as well. I called to check on the status last week and according to BCBS, it was only put into their system on October 15th and I'm already approved.

I have heard that it can take up to 30 days to receive approval, so I wouldn't worry too much. Look at it this way, if you were going to be denied, it would have happened already. They are probably just taking their sweet time.

Good luck though, keep me informed on what happens!

Nat

OMG, I'm so excited guys; I just called BCBS to check on the status of my case and they informed me that I've been approved for my lapband surgery! This comes on the heels of finding out I also got a GREAT new job, so I'm trying my best to get my procedure scheduled before switching jobs. Already put a call into my surgeon's coordinator and left a message for her to call me back ASAP!

Keep your fingers crossed for me that the timing works out! Thanks for all the support and I'll keep you guys posted on what happens.

:Dancing_biggrin: I'm SO excited right now I don't know what to do with myself!!! :party:

I'm not sure how I'm going to get any work done for the rest of the day (lol)!

Thanks for your comments and feedback guys. My irritation might indeed be misdirected at the office staff, the timing was just uncanny.

I appreciate knowing that I'm not all alone out here. It's nice to get feedback when you just want to vent because it helps to put things back into perspective. Sometimes things happen for a reason, right? Maybe this is one of those times.

Here's hoping the turnaround time for my approval is as fast as some of yours.

Nat

Hi guys,

So I was told by the coordinator at my surgeon's office that she sent my paperwork to Carefirst BCBS for approval on September 24th. She mentioned that their turn around is pretty quick and I should have an answer in 2wks at the most.

Long story short, I called the coordinator on Wednesday because I hadn't heard anything from BCBS or the office, so I wanted to know if she had any news. I had already called BCBS and left a voicemail, but they never called me back. The coordinator said she hadn't heard anything, but she would call them right away and get back with me.

I called the doctor's office this morning and got their voicemail, so I decided to try BCBS again. Someone finally answered and checked and informed me that they just received my paperwork on October 15th (yup, Wednesday of this week) and it was under review (as I would imagine since they JUST received it) :frown:. Clearly my coordinator JUST sent them the paperwork when I called to 'check' on the status, which means she never sent it in the first place. I'm so irritated right now! :cool2:

I was thinking I was going to get the results and now I'm back to square one having to wait all over again :smile:. I'm so irritated right now. I want my surgery like LAST YEAR and now I have to wait that much longer.

I know things will be fine and I'll be fine and the news will be great (because I'm owning this already), but I'm just irritated right at this very moment and I needed to vent. Hope you guys understand.

"And that's all I have to say about that" - Forrest Gump

Hi Linda,

Just as with anything else, sometimes you just need a second opinion from another doctor. If you return and the doctor is still against your choice, I would suggest finding another surgeon in your area and getting their opinion.

Good luck and don't let one person get you discouraged or cause you to lose your momentum, ok!

Inspirations and blessings,

Nat

After driving the insurance coordinator at my Dr.'s office, my insurance company, my best friend, my husband and myself crazy for the last week in anticipation of possible declination of coverage... I finally got confirmation today that I am APPROVED!!!! Yeah!!!

I am so excited I can barely stand myself. I called my surgeon's office to set up my next appointment and schedule a surgery date but no one has called me back yet. I am sure I am in more of a hurry than they are but hopefully in the next couple weeks I will have a banding date!!!

I will keep everyone in my prayers who is waiting for approval and those of you who are fighting appeals.

Tracie

That's great Tracie.

My paperwork was just sent to my insurance (Carefirst BCBS) this week and I'm in the waiting phase now. It's very reassuring to hear from folks like yourself that have been approved. I hope that I get my great news in the next couple weeks!

I look forward to seeing your progress and hope I'll be progressing right along with ya (lol) :crying:

Nat

I would think that you should have been in contact with your insurance company directly. My surgeon's office coordinator is handling my paperwork, but I have been in contact with my insurance to verify all the requirements beforehand to ensure that I met all of their qualifications.

When/if my surgery is approved (paperwork was just submitted yesterday for approval), I will be checking with my insurance company directly to verify this information and get some form of documentation of their approval before proceeding with the procedure. It's always good to have all of your documentation in hand so you have a leg to stand on if anything like this should happen. I have copies of everything I've done so far and will continue to collect and keep the documentation until well after my procedure is done.

Good luck to you, I hope everything works out for you. I agree that you should ask the coordinator that handled your paperwork and told you that you had the go ahead to provide some documentation of how she received the approval!

Blessings,

Nat

Hi Nat! Good luck to you! My paperwork was submitted 09/15 and I am still waiting .....but I called the insurance company today and they said generally they take the whole 30 days to review it :girl_hug: I had never heard that an appeal takes that long....yikes! I wish I would have done better on my 6-month supervised diet, all in all I lost 2 pounds total...but fluctuated from gaining and losing all six months - I didn't do the best I could have unfortunately. Hopefully we will here something soon! I am really looking into all the great recipes for Protein shakes while I am waiting! This site is wonderful!!!!

Thanks!!! I've heard a few people on the site say that they've had to wait up to 30 days for their approval, which is just insurance bureaucracy at it's best. My surgeon's scheduler, who was submitting my paperwork, said that she has received approvals as fast as one day, but to expect anything up to 2wks. I can be patient enough to wait for 2wks, but 30 days is pushing it.

In regard to losing weight during the monitored diet, last year, I lost 35lbs, but I was getting B-12 shots and taking an appetite suppressant. I also had the added incentive that I was going to Europe for my birthday (London & Paris, had a ball), but then gained it all back by the end of the year. This time around, I lost 10lbs. If it were easy to lose weight, we wouldn't need this procedure, right?

My fingers are crossed for us both!!

Nat

Hey -- me too I just had my surgeon appt. and I am waiting to hear from insurance. My ins. is 100% and my BMI is 40.4 so I HOPE HOPE HOPE it will be soon. Good luck!!!

Good luck Stacy and thanks for the well wishes! My insurance covers the procedure 100% too, so I'm really hoping I have no issues with approval.

We'll see. Be sure to let me know when you hear something back, ok!

Nat

My surgeon's office is submitting my paperwork for approval today. I'm cautiously optimistic and very excited all at the same time. I'm hoping I have no issues since I've been told that the appeal process takes 6mths and I don't know that I could keep this momentum going that long when I just want my surgery like last year (lol)!!!

Just wanted to put it out there and get some prayers going for me to be approved quickly!

Hope springs eternal... :girl_hug:

Nat

may I ask what type of diets they are talking about and how you found a nutrionist? thanks for any info and hi neighbor!

I'm sorry it's taken me so long to respond, I didn't realize that you'd responded to my comment CharMD. I was referred to a nutritionist through my surgeon's office, but you can also look for nutritionists that are listed through the BCBS network.

I have a PPO plan, so I didn't need a referral to go to my nutritionist, but if you don't have a PPO plan, make sure to get a referral from your PCP so that it will be considered for your surgery. I've completed the 3mths with my nutritionist and I already had 3mths with a doctor monitored diet, so according to what I've read, I've met all the qualifications necessary. My BMI is over 40 and I got my pych eval already. Still trying to get in contact with the right staff member to ensure that my paperwork is submitted to Carefirst so I can get this ball rolling!!! I'm cautiously optimistic and very excited at the same time!! :smile:

Nat

I'm a Carefirst BCBS of MD member and I called to get the information about requirements for the surgery and they mentioned everything you posted except for the information about the option to do 2 managed diets for 3mths instead of waiting the full 6mths with one.

I have an appt with a nutritionist on June 9th, 2008 and want to get my ticker started. If I can get the surgery sooner than December, I'm all for it. I'll have to make sure that will work and move forward with that plan.

Thanks for the info,

Nat