Has anybody switched insurance just before surgery?

[monarchcat 0]

Hi, I'm new here and I should probably head over to the intro section first, but I hope you'll bear with me! I am scheduled for a seminar on Sept 26 and am looking forward to starting the process toward a band. I have cigna insurance currently, so I know there is a 6 month supervised diet required before approval. At the moment my BMI is 40.6, which just makes it for the insurance requirement. My husband will probably be losing health insurance in March (his company is going through bankruptcy and his job will be ending) and we will be switching insurance (either he'll start with a new company or we'll pay out of pocket for health insurance - no cobra available). In either case it more than likely won't be cigna at that point and that will be right around when my 6 months will end and I'll be trying to get approval and a surgery date.

I understand that to submit to insurance they take the weight you are at at the beginning of the process (taken on the day with all the appointments I believe?). Does anything get submitted to insurance at that time or is it only submitted when all the criteria are met (i.e. the 6 month supervised diet)?

If it's not submitted until AFTER the 6 months then I should be ok with waiting til I've switched insurance companies and submitting to whatever new company we are with, correct? I will be sure that if it's in our control we choose one that covers lap band, of course!

However, if i have to submit a weight at the time we switch insurance, by BMI will almost certainly be below 40 as the program I am attending (Lahey in Massachusetts) requires a loss of 10% of excess weight before surgery. I have no comorbid conditions presently that would allow for an approval with a BMI under 40 (damn! LOL)

Has anyone had a situation where their insurance changed part way through the process, and especially BEFORE surgery? Does it even matter what I have now, or does it only matter what I will have when it comes time to surgery time?

I'm sure this has happened to some, as in this day and age, people are changing jobs (or unfortunately losing jobs) all too often.

Thanks for any input! I just trying to understand the whole lap band process and am glad to have found these boards! You guys seem like a supportive, happy group and there is so much great info here!