Where to start??!

Hi everyone...I don't know where to start? I'm going to a seminar Nov. 13th for surgery. Haven't had any appointments yet. Do I get an appointment for my PCP? and get a nutritionist and psych consult from her before the seminar? Do these people have to write letters? I was thinking of bringing my own letter to my physician too. Do I gather my old medical records(different clinics/hospital than my current clinic/hospital)? and try to show documentation of how long I've been struggling? will it make a difference to insurance if they can see I've been overweight since I was in elementary school? What about gym memberships. My renewal shows on the receipt that I've been a member since 2002 (have actually been since 1999 but it says 2002) Will that make a difference? I read my insurance benefits book last night and it said it covers surgery, under the morbid obesity category. So I just have to call them and find out my requirements. Where to start is hard. What things do I need to get to help me get approved faster/easier??? any info would help. thanks

Hi there. Almost all of that should be covered at the seminar. My Dr gave me a list of all of the things I had to do before I could even get an appt with him. I got the list at the seminar. But they arranged for all the psych,nutrition appts. They also had me bring copies of my medical records for the past two years and have some blood work done. They also had me get a preapproval letter from my insurance company. But again, all of that was covered at the seminar. Good luck vicki 335/152/145

Marie, most bariatric surgeons have a "bariatric team." they handle everything. You should see a PCP first and have him dicatate that he approves of the surgery and thinks you would be a good canidate, tell him with surgeon you've choosen to consult with. Once you have your surgeon's consult, and he says you are a canidate, his team lets you know what you need to do and where you need to do these things. Once all of your appointments are completed they gather all your info and submit a pre authorizaion to insurance. You should bring past medical records to your consult, it cuts down on all the paper trail time. This is why it's a huge benefit to go to a well known, highly qualified hospital/surgeon.

I attended the meeting from MWB in a week or so I received a paper telling me all the tests and doctors I needed to see. The first thing after that was see my primary doctor and had her write a letter stating her approval. She recommended that I see a nutristionist. Before I left her office she had her people set me up an appt for the nut. plus I needed to have an EKG so they set that up too. The I called a psycologist and made an appointment. I had a really good one from St. E's his name is in their packet. Make sure you keep their list and date when you've seen everyone and put that in your letter to the insurance company.