Getting approved for surgery

[dklentz01983 21]

Hello everyone. Im getting ready to see a dr. About bariatric surger and I'm interest to know how long it took to get approved by your dr and insurance (i have BCBSTX)???

[becomingmandikaye 262]

It's really going to depend on your insurance company and their requirements. What does your insurance require for bariatric surgery?

[dklentz01983 21]

They req bmi of 40, phsych release and agreement of post op regiment and diet.

That is what the med policy says and i called to make sure there was not grp req notes on my policy.

Edited July 5, 2016 by dklentz01983

[dklentz01983 21]

Im more worried about the dr making jump thru hoops to get this. Can drs require more of you that what your ins requires?

[becomingmandikaye 262]

Those were the same requirements I had, though my surgeon also required an endoscopy.

My first appointment with the surgeon was 4/28, did the psych and nutritionist visits on 5/2 and was all but cleared for surgery at that point. Endoscopy was scheduled for 6/6 (my surgeon only does them one Monday per month), and I was approved by insurance on 6/7. Pre-op appointments on 6/9 and surgery was 6/15.

[dklentz01983 21]

I know this is a person question but can i ask what your bmi was? Mine is 40.3. I feel like i should gain some more weight. I know they put you on a liquid diet for preop and that will make me lose weight and be under the required bmi the day of surgery.

[SoCalBoiler 23]

BCBS-TX is my provider as well. The approval process took six months because of their requirement of receiving psychological and nutritional counseling - the former was only a couple meetings but the latter had to be once-a-month for six months. It was frustrating because I did all my research and due diligence so once I had my appointment with my surgeon, I was mentally prepared to have it done within a week or two but had to wait six months. Having said that, the counseling sessions were valuable and I learned a LOT about eating, what to expect, how to prepare, etc - I just wish I'd known about the process taking six months for insurance approval when I started down this road.

BTW, my surgery is tomorrow.

[dklentz01983 21]

BCBS-TX is my provider as well. The approval process took six months because of their requirement of receiving psychological and nutritional counseling - the former was only a couple meetings but the latter had to be once-a-month for six months. It was frustrating because I did all my research and due diligence so once I had my appointment with my surgeon, I was mentally prepared to have it done within a week or two but had to wait six months. Having said that, the counseling sessions were valuable and I learned a LOT about eating, what to expect, how to prepare, etc - I just wish I'd known about the process taking six months for insurance approval when I started down this road.

BTW, my surgery is tomorrow.

Thank you for the info. Very helpful. And congrats BTW im so jealous.

[becomingmandikaye 262]

I know this is a person question but can i ask what your bmi was? Mine is 40.3. I feel like i should gain some more weight. I know they put you on a liquid diet for preop and that will make me lose weight and be under the required bmi the day of surgery.

I was at 41.6 I think. But I also made a conscious effort to gain about 10 pounds before my consultation to ensure I was over that line. They used the weight from my first appointment.

[flip26 10]

I know this is a person question but can i ask what your bmi was? Mine is 40.3. I feel like i should gain some more weight. I know they put you on a liquid diet for preop and that will make me lose weight and be under the required bmi the day of surgery.

I was at 41.6 I think. But I also made a conscious effort to gain about 10 pounds before my consultation to ensure I was over that line. They used the weight from my first appointment.

That is where I am at. I felt the need to gain 8lbs to put my bmi at 40.7 for my appointment with my pcp to get my referral in for wls. I am going for my information class on July 12 then I get to schedule my consultation.

Sent from my SM-G900T using the BariatricPal App

[dklentz01983 21]

How did yall gain weight. Im just eating a bunch of junk but i feel there a better option. Did anyone use weight gainer shakes?

[becomingmandikaye 262]

Oh I just ate all of the food I knew I wouldn't be able to. Lots of food funerals.