How long did it take...

[peacequeen 434]

How long did it take to get the call after the seminar and turning in paperwork?

Went to seminar Jan 4, turned in paperwork that night. Had issues with the insurance coordinator but straightened it out ,,still no call and I'm feeling very anxious and depressed. Am I overreacting?

[laureny1986 0]

Who is your insurance provider?

[Chubbie_Girl 0]

I went to the seminar the end of November which was on a Saturday and I called the office the following Tuesday to get the ball rolling. I was banded January 25th so the hoops and jumps I had to go through took roughly 2 months. I personally would call and see what is going on... maybe even try to get the first appt scheduled.... Good Luck:)!

[peacequeen 434]

I'm not sure how the process works. The insurance coordinator told me on the phone that I should bring my doctor referral letters with me at my consult with the surgeon so I haven't even turned those in yet. I have United Healthcare ChoicePlus. But I will be eligible for Medicare April 1. She told me I would just need to decide which insurance I wanted to go with. Do I need to just call her with that decision? I was under the impression I would let them know at the consult. She told me I would receive a call in about a week from the time I talked to her almost 3 weeks ago. I really don't think her job is a priority.

[JerseyMom29 0]

Also have United HealthCare and they require a 6 month doctor supervised diet before they will approve the surgery. They are the last company to still require this. Of course now that I finished that and am getting my surgery Wednesday, they will probably drop that requirement. But I know they told me there was no way around it. It HAD to be done.

[peacequeen 434]

Yeah, I heard that. I also heard there are several different UHC plans and they have different requirements. Medicare requires the diet also, I think they might take some things into consideration though..record of diets tried/failed if recent, health issues and such. Either way, I think my UHC plan and medicare will require me to go through it. That's fine, I'd just like to have an appt with my surgeons office and get this show on the road. Anything for motivation at this point.

[JerseyMom29 0]

So you are waiting for a call back from your doctor to make the first appt?

Well I can tell you I learned this.....patience. You will learn that you need alot of it through this process. I was told the diet was for any plan on UHC. Besides the 6 month diet, there are all kinds of testing required, so patience will be needed for those appts also. You will need all that time too for those appts.

Believe me when I started my process in August I was very disappointed to find out about the diet. I was finally ready and didnt want to wait the 6 months. So I started Weight Watchers and since then have lost 60 lbs and my surgery is now this Wednesday.

Guess you could call to just check to see if all your paperwork was in order but learning patience is the biggest hurdle.

[changing 2]

Stay motivated.I was a big advocate in getting the surgeons office to do their part.I called doctors that I want my records from personally to request thaey be sent.I called to confirm that the insurance office received all my paperwork.Then every 2 days I would follow up.My process was not to bad since I have always struggled with my weight and always discussed it with PCP and the dietician at her office.I thought for sure they would want a 6 month month to month with no gaps visit,but they didn't.I guess if i had to guess they looked at it from a 3 month multodisciplinary view.I did have that from last year.Look at my signature line to track my steps.

[peacequeen 434]

So you are waiting for a call back from your doctor to make the first appt?

Well I can tell you I learned this.....patience. You will learn that you need alot of it through this process. I was told the diet was for any plan on UHC. Besides the 6 month diet, there are all kinds of testing required, so patience will be needed for those appts also. You will need all that time too for those appts.

Believe me when I started my process in August I was very disappointed to find out about the diet. I was finally ready and didnt want to wait the 6 months. So I started Weight Watchers and since then have lost 60 lbs and my surgery is now this Wednesday.

Guess you could call to just check to see if all your paperwork was in order but learning patience is the biggest hurdle.

Sorry this is a long reply. I think I'm pretty patient. Just hoping to hear how long it took before the call after going to the seminar and paperwork turned in to get an appt with the surgeon. I had a strange experience with the Ins. Coor., I have it in a seperate post. I went to the seminar Jan 4, turned in my paperwork. Told the ins. coor. I hadn't completed the dr referral yet. She said that was ok, not a problem. Told me to call them and they could take that info over the phone when I got it. So I did. I called and the receptionist said ins coor wasn't in, to leave a msg so I did. Waited a week, no return call so I called back and the receptionist said she should call me and didn't know why she hadn't, she took a personal note on a post it to leave on her desk. Said if I didn't get a call the next day by noon to call. Didn't get the call so I called, the receptionist again, left another note,,I told her not to, there should already be a note from the previous day. She said she was anyway. So a week later I get a call from the Ins. coor. She was very hateful and rude to me saying she was out of town and that my paperwork was being returned to me because it was incomplete and not sure why I hadn't rec'd it yet (without asking if I had rec'd it yet??) I was never told she was out of town and I told her I had told the receptionist not to worry about leaving a 2nd note but she insisted. Well, her tone changed. She then said, well, I do have a "copy" of your paperwork here and it seems we need the doctor who is recommending the surgery..LOL I told her that was what I was calling about and had been told it was ok to call this info in. So she wrote my doctors name down (wow) and said she would resubmit the "copy" to the clinician. I wanted to be very nice to her, she was the one who would be responsible for getting "my ball rolling" . I asked her when should I expect a call for my appt with the surgeon and she said about a week or less. Well, it's been 2 weeks, no call. That's all I'm saying. I just wanted to know how long everyone else was waiting. I understand about the diet, like I said, not a problem for me. I read here at this site that others didn't have to go on the diet, having UHC, they apparently have several different plans.

[JerseyMom29 0]

Sorry you are having problems with your coordinator. Every doctor is different. With mine I had to watch an online 2 hr seminar, take a test on it, and once I passed I was able to make an appt with him. UHC assigned me a nurse to work with me on the insurance.. Didn't have any other paperwork to submit.. Was able to see the doctor relatively soon after the test and the process began.

Hopefully they will straighten it out for you and you can get the ball rolling...

[forabetterlife 3]

I went to the Seminar in September 2008 and turnt in paper work, my insurance approved it no problem but because of the process you have to go through with the Bariatric program here I didnt get banded until june 16th 2009 so almost a year for me.

[slm2007 7]

I went to the seminar in July 2010. I have to do six months of weigh in's with my PCP. After 4 months of weigh-in's I had to see the nutrionalist and have a psych evaluation. Also, my insurance changed the six months of weigh-ins to six months consecutive...so I had to start in September all over again because I didn't get weighed in August. Anyhow, I have my last weigh with my PCP this month (February) and have to get a letter from the doctor to submit to insurance and then they say it is between 4-6 weeks for approval. I spoke to the nurse and she told me that reality is the surgery could be scheduled 4 weeks after my last weigh in with the PCP.

[peacequeen 434]

Thanks you guys. Knowing it's not just me having the long wait,,makes it easier. I'm sorry for everyone else now.lol

[Delmann 0]

Once my insurance company approved my surgery I still waited about three weeks to get set up for the pre testing and surgery date. I also did not get my phone calls returned in a timely manner.The waiting is the hardest!

I had to complete 6 months of dieting with a dietitian before BCBS would approve my surgery. And I just want to get the ball rolling.

[B-52 7,113]

Also have United HealthCare and they require a 6 month doctor supervised diet before they will approve the surgery. They are the last company to still require this. Of course now that I finished that and am getting my surgery Wednesday, they will probably drop that requirement. But I know they told me there was no way around it. It HAD to be done.

No, I had to do it also. 6 month medically supervised weight loss program, with progress notes. I have Highmark Blue Shield. They have been a very good insurance co. for me. Even have my own case mgr. that calls me every now and then in the evening to see how everything is going.