Many Questions???

Hello. I have scheduled my first appt. with Dr. Hung in Lincoln. I am very excited and nervous!! I am 5'9" tall and weigh 275. My BMI is right at 40 and I have tried EVERYTHING to maintain my weight. I think I have been on a diet since birth! Anyway, I am very concerned about my insurance. I have BCBS PPO and am worried that they won't accept me!! Please let me know your experience with this!! How long does it take once you are approved to have the surgery?? Please help!! Thanks.

Do you have any co-morbidities... High blood pressure... heart disease.. diabetes.... sleep apnea ... etc etc... I had Blue/Cross Blue/Shield thru my work but the first of the year the company I work for put and exclusion on WLS so I was lucky I had it done last year. You can call BC/BS and ask them if WLS is on your policy or look it up in your policy handbook if you have it. I saw my Dr. for a consultation and turned in all my info to his office (med records ... past attempts at diets... dr references etc) I was approved 1 wk and 1 day later. I don't think this is the norm tho. (I have heart disease.) The only way to find out if they will approve you is to try! .. Sue sorry not much help !

I called my insurance company and talked to them about what is needed to qualify for the surgery. So I knew ahead of time what was expected if I were to be approved. Good luck to you!

I had my surgery with Dr. Hung. First of all you have made a great choice for your surgeon, I would highly reccomend him. Second the insurance issue, well I don't know I had surgery March 2,2004 and received a letter June 22,2004 stating that July 1,2004 it was no longer covered under my policy. So a lot of it has to do with what policy you have. I have BC/BS and they were great for me. Some words of encouragement though, Dr Hung's office is very good. They wrote all the letters to my insurance company. They know exactly what to say to get it approved. So you are working with professionals. I had absolutely no problems with getting approved. I had a BMI of 68 though and High blood pressure, hip problems, lower back pain ect. Well if you have any other questions just ask. If you want to read my profile, it is kind of a scary story, but a good one to know. I would do the surgery all over again, even if I had to pay for it myself. Nick

I had surgery 3-5-03 with BCBS, they approved me within one week, that is after I had submitted all the paperwork that they wanted. Good luck, Chris in Beatrice