How long was your journey from 1st Dr.'s visit to surgery?

[kittykat56 0]

I have BCBS in WV. They require 6 months supervised diet. So...my first appt was January 8th and I finally have a surgery date of Sept 22nd. Everyone's situation is different and it really depends on what your insurance requires and doesn't require. And, how quickly your Dr's office works to get your paperwork done.

Good Luck to you!

[1LE4ME 0]

My first appointment at NEW U was in April of 2009 and I just got banded on the 12 of August this year. So about 16 months.

[kimberleec 0]

I have BC/BS of Nebraska and do not have a the 6 month superivsed diet stipulation. I have just started my process and have my first appointment on September 1. The office administrator told me that as long as I have met all the criteria for the insurance best case scenario I cold be having surgery the first of October 2010. I have a $350 deductible and the surgery will cost me out of pocket $1500. Which has to be paid in full before surgery.

Be sure to call your insurance company with the CPT code and ask them specifically what criteria must be met. This way there are no surprises. You may have to call a few times to get all the information. I had to call about five times to get all the needed information and they were even gracious enough to email the section in the policy with everything in writting.

I wish you good luck on your journey, keep us posted!

~Kim

[dm5201 1]

Nearly a year. By the time I went to the presentation, did the psych and nutrition eval, and then a 6 month supervised diet; waited on insurance which took approximately 21 days. I'm having surgery the 24th of August!

[rkwilliams1013 0]

I had my first consultation with the Doc July 13th, and am scheduled for surgery September 2nd.

[amandac82 0]

First Dr meeting in Nov '09 ----life got in the way

Start of 6 months of nutrition classes Feb 22 2010

Last of nutrtion classes July 20 2010

Psych eval, Cardiac clearance- March '10

Paperwork in to insurance- August 5 2010

Approval- TODAY!!! 8/17/10

Called Dr office this morning and waiting to hear back from them to start diet and get surgery date. They said they can probably get me in by the end of the month!

Good luck everyone!

[Cherishthepast 20]

Approximately 10-weeks. My first appt w/ surgeon was 6/2/09. Received insurance approval on 7/16/09 (after completing appts w/nutritionist, psych, and sleep study) - basically could have scheduled surgery the following week. I waited and had surgery on 8/10/09 to give myself a chance to try different Protein sources and prepare myself. By the way, I have BCBSMA, they didn't require anything of me - no 3-6 month diet...

I only had to pay the copay which was $250.

[Astrasmom 1]

I have BC/BS of NJ. I have dual insurances. Mine and my husbands so the surgery costed me nothing. I also had a Hiatal hernia repair at the same time (total cost $35,000). And my fills are all covered too. I'm with an out of network doctor that only takes in network fees. He doesn't back bill.

Anyway from the seminar to the surgery it was 6 months for me. I had 6 nutrional visits, cardiac clearance, phsyc eval, pulmonary eval, gastric clearance, and a letter of dietary habits from my PCP.

At first I thought the day would never get here, but now that I look back, I thank God for that 6 months because the nutrional visits alone taught me so much.

[cjett 0]

I have Cigna which requires a 6 month wait. My first appt was in early Sept 2009. I had surgery June 28, 2010. A long process but definitely worth it.

[stinksmom 0]

I have BC/BS as well. Every plan is different. I have so many stipulations and tests that need to be completed before I can even submit for approval for the surgery. I started my journey June 2010- **$1500 later (out of pocket expense for insurance) I'm waiting for approval. My "tentative" date is 9/15/10- along with a $2000 co-pay. I'm afraid that if I don't get approved I just blew $1500 on unnecessary tests. I'm still saving for the $2000 co-pay! Good luck!

[che4u 0]

Wow, thanks so much everyone!

I have BCBS of NJ, (even though I am in NH), and they require a 6 month nutritional support and a lot more, (in the way of other requirements). They suggested, today, that a note from my Dr. might be able to lessen that a bit but that there were no guarantees.

My BMI is 50 and I'd like to get this done before the end of the year, (so that I don't have to pay the copay twice... of $1,000 each year), and I am hoping that will help to encourage them to put it through.

I was raised by a very health-conscious Mom and Dad so, knock on wood, that might help a little also...? Thanks again for your help, I will let folks know if I hear anything else.

Shannon

[NYCMom41 0]

Hi Shannon. I have coverage through the New York State Health Insurance Plan (for NY state employees). My OON deductible was $375.00 and I did not have a waiting period. My first visit with the surgeon was on 05/13/2010 and I squeezed all the following visits (Psych, Nutrionist, Endoscopy, Cardiologist, Pulmonologist, Abdominal Ultrasound, Endocrinologist, and Primary Care Physician) by 6/30/2010 and my surgery was on 7/14/2010.

If by any chance you end up having surgery next year you should look to see if your employer has a flex spending account employeen benefit and defer the amount of your deductible from your paycheck tax free. I had enrolled in flex spending for the 2010 plan year to the tune of $1000 and was so happy that I did. All my copays (doctors and Rx), nutritionist, psychologist, and out of network deductible were covered. Good luck and hope you are able to have the surgery this year.

Edited August 19, 2010 by NYCMom41