I have UHC through a larger employer as well. I started this process last year in June. In August I was told by the surgeon's office that my insurance required a 6 month weight history. After going through that for 6 months, finally in January I thought I was finished, only to find out the surgeon's office was not satisifed with the information that was filled out by my primary care physican. They would not submit the information to UHC. In the meantime, I decided to start the 6 months over again. However, in July I called UHC and after being on the phone for over an hour and talking to 5 representatives (I wanted to know if I could fax UHC the 6 month history to get their opinion on them), I finally asked them if it was needed. They told me NO! I asked UHC what should I do because I knew the surgeon's office would not open a claim. They told me that I could open the claim and they would then request the documentation that they needed from the surgeon's. I was APPROVED in less than 7 working days! I then had problems getting the surgeon's office to believe I was approved. Finally, last week I called the insurance group and asked them to call UHC to check. Now that they know I am approved, the process is finally beginning to pick back up. I have to have a psych re-evaluation because it has been over a year. Then on September 4th, I am meeting with the surgeon. I am praying that I will be banded in October.
I said all of this to say, don't trust what the surgeon's office is telling you. If I would have checked it out with UHC, I could have possibly been banded by now.
