insurance clearance

i have all my pre surgical testing and letters done and all will be faxed to my dr. tomorrow. Any idea how long it takes for the insurance to respond once the doctor's office has sent in all the paperwork to them?(assuming they are satisified with the paperwork) I have empire/blue cross-blue choice ppo(NY) getting just a little anxious...thanks, kathy

Kathy: The surgeons office (mainly the person who handles insurance precerts) can probably give you the best general answer to this, ask kinldy what their 'experience' with your insurer/most insurers is as of late w/ their office. I had MVP, but I had surgery 3.5 yrs ago, my approval came the next day after submission. My date was 4-5 weeks for surgery after I saw surgeon, that is how he booked at the time, gave tehm time to process claims and work thru snafus I guess. Insurers are individual w/ this time frame, but as I said office could give u a 'general' idea. It is good to call ins to make sure all is submitted/received and ask them what to expect also (document date/time/person u spoke with!) Wishing u well! Take Care, Jamie Lap RNY 10/9/02 Dr. Singh 320/163 5'9'' (lost 45# before surgery) Plastics 6/9/04 & 11/11/2005 Dr. King http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/members/profile.php?N=c1132518510 "Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!"

Thanks Jamie for the reply...I'll keep you informed. kathy

Hi Kathy, first of all good luck on the clearance! I know its tough waiting. I have empire bc/bs pos and my approval came in 3 days. So i will say a prayer your does too. Just make sure you have as much info being sent as possible. As long as you meet their requirements there should be no problem. Best of luck to you. LisaMarie

Thanks LisaMarie for the response and the prayer. I can always use it. Hopefully, I'll be one of the next ones to post I got my approval. Kathy

Hello it all will depend upon the Dr and more importantly the insurance company. I have United Healthcare and I received my approval 3 days after it was submitted to my Co. I hope you get it approved nice and fast so you can continue your journey. Louis

I had empire blue shield blue cross PPO and my approval came within 2 weeks! All he best to you during this exciting time lisa

I had Empire Blue HMO, which is lower level than PPO (which I just changed to, by the way, so I have a better field of plastic surgeons to choose from). I was approved in a couple of days. Just stay on top of them in terms of getting approvals. Be proactive. I had my surgery about 2 weeks after I decided to have it, and if I had not pushed certain things, like the approval for my stress test, I would probably still be waiting. Good luck Feisty Emm

I am glad you asked this question because like you I am wondering the same thing about the same insurance company. I am a New York native but now live in Atlanta. I have Empire Blue Cross/Blue Shield PPO(NEW YORK) and my paperwork was submitted this week. I will keep my fingers crossed for both of us. By the way what paperwork did you submit to Empire? Talk you soon, Carolyn

I have the empire plan and my approval took less than 3 days.