What is an angel??

Hello Everyone, I'm new to the forum. My name is Mickey and I'm pretty much done with the evaluation process. All my testing has been completed with the exception of an overnite oxygen test at my home while I sleep. Everything has been going smoothly which is kind of scary as usually insurance companies are terrible to work with. I have a couple of questions....What is an Angel? Is it a support person? Does anyone have United Health care insurance & are they difficult in getting approval for surgery? I called them prior to starting this process & they stated that if a BMI is over 41 it's 100% coverage...this sounds almost too good to be true. Thanks everyone, Mickey

Hi Mickey and welcome to the boards! First - an angel is a support person from our community who will be there for you during your journey. He/she will be the contact point for your family so that your online friends here on OH can get updates on you following your surgery and generally a lot of us angels like to visit our angelettes in the hospital to make sure they're doing ok. Hope that helps!! We have many wonderful people on the CT boards who pretty much are all angels!!! Secondly - on the United Healthcare front. I just picked up UH this year, however, my friend had UH last year when she had her surgery and really had no problems getting approval or with any of the followups. So, unless they've changed their policy (like so many companies have this year ) I don't think you should have any trouble so long as you have all the paperwork completed. Anyways - hope your journey is a smooth one!! Good luck and welcome once again. Hugs, Carla

Hi Mickey, I'm new to the forum also....I too have picked Dr. Barba for a surgeon, and my testing is all done too, except fot the pysc. eval. on 1-21-05.....Have you had your nutrition consult yet????? Everything has been going pretty smooth for me too..... By the way we live pretty close to each other.......... Mary

Welcome to the Boards! These people rock!!! You will enjoy it! I do have UHC and as long as there isn't an exclusion in your policy, they do cover it. I started my current job last March and when I called to ask if they cover it, they said yes, however, when my paperwork was submitted to the company for approval, I was denied because there is a written exclusion in the policy my company holds. When I initially spoke to them, they weren't looking at my policy specifically, they just stated that they covered it because they do. I would just confirm that your specific policy covers it. I would hate to see you in my position - I have had to hire an attorney to fight my appeal. Please let me know if you have any questions!! Good Luck! Phyllis