Question:
DO I QUALIFY

MY BMI IS 49. AND MY CO MORBIDITIES ARE OBSTRUCTIVE SLEEP APNEA, ASTHMA, GERD KNEE AND JOINT PAIN AND JUST DIAGNOSED WITH BORDERLINE DIABETES. I HAVE READ OTHERES WITH MY SAME INS. CO. GET DENIED WITH THE SAME CO MORBIDS. (EXCEPT FOR THE DIABETES) AND THEY WERE DENIED. WAS ANYBODY ELSE APPROVED WITH THE SAME CO MORBIDS.    — tracy W. (posted on March 22, 2003)

March 22, 2003
Different insurance companies have different sets of guidelines and even the same insurance company may have different guidelines in different parts of the company. <p> My suggestion is to call your insurance company and ask them to send you a copy of their guidelines for gastric bypass surgery. With a BMI of 49, you shouldn't need *any* co-morbs to get approved and you'd think that the sleep apnea and diabetes would clinch it, but it's best to double check with your insurance company. <p> You may also want to check to see if they have any prerequisites like a 6-month physician supervised diet and exercise program (like some insurance companies are putting in their policies). If there are, you may want your PCP to get started on documenting your diet attempts now since you will most likely have a wait to see the surgeon as this is a very popular surgery....JR (open RNY 07/17 -157 pounds)
   — John Rushton

March 22, 2003
What I did when I was researching WLS was I went to the link above called "Insurers" and clicked on my state and then found the listing of insurance companies posted by other people who have had (or have tried to have) WLS. I got your insurance company name from your profile and did the same for you, and here's the page where you can scroll down, find your insurance name "Caresource" and read what others have said about getting their surgeries covered. Good luck to you on your journey!<br> Lap-RNY 1/13/03 -83lbs & Counting! <p> http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/insurers2.phtml?State=OH&Page=8
   — thumpiez