Dr Brian Lane???

I'm really not sure Barb. I will most definitely check. The book I have at home just says it is covered with medical necessity. Maybe I'll call my HR department. I'll call my pcp for an appointment too. Can't hurt. My bmi has been over 40 for the last 5 years. That was the reason they gave for denial before. Maybe because I didn't meet that criteria, they never went any further with requirement issues. Dr. Lane's office just said I needed 5 years of weight history from my pcp, a bmi over 40 (for 5 years) and a psych eval. They never said anything about the 6 month diet either, but hey, I guess they can't know every detail of every policy right off the bat. Again, thanks for the info. I don't want to waste anymore time.

I can deal with "policy," etc...but one thing I have difficulty with is rudeness on the part of employees that are supposedly in place to serve me, the customer. I'm glad you put her in her place, Barb. I had a little different situation with my insurance carrier. I called them in the beginning to ask if they covered "bariatric surgery." The woman I spoke with said "no." I asked her if there was any other type of gastric bypass that they might cover. She immediately said, "Oh yes, we *do* cover gastric bypass surgery." Duh.

I agree. Incompetence and rudeness are so unacceptable to me and yet we are forced to deal with so much of it in trying to get our insurance approval. I've talked to the "good the bad and the ugly" at Medical Mutual. It's pretty much the luck of the draw when I call. Some are very friendly and helpful, others are friendly even if they aren't much help and then there's the other....It amazes me that someone representing an insurance company didn't know that gastric bypass surgery was a bariatric surgery...geesh!