*Kim*'s post got me wondering what other insurance companies

BCBS PPO, I had no period of supervised dieting. I did need a psych eval and a letter of reccomenation from my GP. Got approval in about 6 weeks. Very smooth. I was ready to have surgery about 2-3 months after I started the process. I had to wait for work though. Now Surgery in about 3 weeks. Can't wait.

Priority Health POS. Requirements: BMI over 50 and one co-morbidity that meets their definition of co-morbidity, not necessarily your PCP's definition or diagnosis. Otherwise, BMI of 45 plus their defined co-morbidities, plus 6 month Dr. Supervised diet and they tell you where to go, but they don't pay for any of it. They stated in my denial letter that even if I completed the 6 month fasting diet, there would be no guarantee that surgery would be approved. They basically suck as far as insurance goes, not only for this surgery, but for just about everything else too. I could appeal, but I've lost 14 pounds on my own which brought my BMI down below 50, so I wouldn't qualify without the 6 month diet requirement and we can't afford the $2500 that it would cost.

I think with some insurances, its not just the insurance carrier that determines the criteria, but also the employer taking out the policy. My personal feeling is that all insurances should cover it if you meet the NIH criteria period. It can be up to employers as to whether or not they want to have the WLS benefit in their policy, but I really do think there should be some standard among insurance carriers because right now its like luck of the draw on whether or not you have a good policy or a crappy one to get approved or denied. Just doesn't seem right. Im not suggesting that everyone and their brother should be approved just because they seek it out, but if you meet the basic NIH criteria and have documentation of different diets/programs/or physician recommendation and/or other health concerns related to obesity, and you can pass a psych exam, you should be able to be approved. But thats just my feelings, Im sure others would disagree.