Could this be true?

Well I guess I might be back in the saddle again. I gave up hope a year ago of ever having any surgery after my employer changed from Aetna to BCBS of Illinois for insurance coverage. I had finally gotten to the point where I wanted to speak to a doctor. But, when I called to speak with someone at the doctor's office I was cut off the moment that I said told them who my insurance company was. The lady on the phone said that at that time BCBS was not approving surgery for any reason. She told me the only option was the pay out of pocket. Since I work in social services and didn't see any money falling from the sky I gave up any hope that that would be a option for me. Now a year later I have heard a rumor that BCBS of Illinois is now approving people for the surgeries again. Can anyone verify that story???????? Or am I still out of luck?? If this is true has anyone done it lately? And how were they to work with? Thanks Brad Woodstock IL.

The best thing to do is to contact your insurance directly. Insurance packages are different per company and just because someone else' insurance may pay for it and they have the same insurance as you, your policy may still not cover it. So you should contact the 1-800 number on the back of your card. They will let you know right up front.

Hi Brad, A friend of mine has BC/BS - not sure which plan. She was told my them that she cannot have surgery until she has been under a Drs. care for a weight reduction program for 1 year. She is now doing Seattle Sutton's Healthy Eating...which is very pricey. She is managing to lose some weight though. She goes to the Dr. every month for a weight check, blood pressure, etc. I don't live that far from you...in Elgin. I am almost 4 weeks postop now. I can finally eat and not feel sick afterwards. Best of luck and as other have posted.....the best way for you to get info from your ins. company is to call them. However, I called my ins. company 2x and was told both times that we didn't have coverage for the surgery. I turned my paperwork into the surgeons office and imagine my surprise when I received approval 1 month later. Good luck, Kristi

Brad, I have to echo what Lori said.. each insurance plan is different -- regardless of who manages the policy (BCBS, Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, etc).. For what it's worth, I have BCBS (just not BCBS IL) and was pre-approved with just a psych eval.. most of the BCBS IL clients I've seen post do state that they require at least 6 mo Dr supervised weight program before they will begin to approve the surgery. Call your insurance company -- after I went to my first informational meeting with my surgical group, that's what I did. I found out what my pre-requisites were and stayed on top of them until I had my pre-approval letter. They even faxed it to me! The best thing you can do is take matters into your own hands.. it gives you peace of mind and a sense of control over something we often feel like we have NO control over.. Good luck and please keep us posted! Stef