Waiting for insurance authorization..

I finally finished my 6 months of nutrition visits which is what is required by my insurance (United Healthcare). UHC deleted me from their system because they had me listed as a dependent instead of a spouse so all of my information was erased. When my Surgeons office called to submit for approval they were not able to find an open case for me. I'm so frustrated and worried that I won't get approved because of this. I called to open a new case and answer all of the questions they require so now I'm patiently waiting to get an answer.. I should hear something by the 1st week of September. I feel like I'm on the edge of my seat. I'm getting nervous and excited at the same time!

I have united healthcare as well... My case was opened July 21st, they told me paperwork was received August 6th. Still waiting in a decision, but they said they're in the final round of decisions so fingers crossed it's soon and it's approved! Best of luck to you :)

I asked them how long the decision making process takes and they told me that my case manager has 15 business days to make a decision. Do you have a tentative surgery date? Mine is 9/25. Best of luck to you as well and I hope you hear back from them sooner than later! My fingers are crossed for you. :)

I've gotten various answers on how long the process takes, originally it was 45 days, then 30, now they're saying 15. My surgeon gave them a dummy date of august 28th so I'm hoping to hear something this week. Once I get approval I can get an actual date. Keep me posted on how everything goes for you :)

I will definitely keep you posted. You do the same. :)

I've been through the ringer with UHC. A few things: call them. Often. Ensure that your case was assigned to a case manager. Something stupid, but tripped me up: ask how many pages your doctor submitted and verify that exact page number with your claims specialist. My UHC plan has a Bariatric Resources component (case worker). If you have that, use that person. My case work single handedly found the issue that caused my denial and 4 subsequent appeal rejections. Often times they have access to the electronic digest to get a status and see if things are being worked on. There's no harm in being very nice but calling UHC everyday. 

Don't just assume that things are being reviewed. They may not be. I don't want to seem alarmist but I lost 5 weeks thinking that things were progressing, when in fact NOTHING had even been started. 

It's up to you to fight for yourself. As nice as your doctor and insurance people may be, it's not their life. It's yours. So push people to do what you are expecting of them. Be nice, but don't for one minute stop asking and questioning. 

I may have been a nuisance, but on my 4th submission I was approved in 2 business days. So the squeaky wheel may in fact get the grease. Just be kind and ask; don't tell. And people will help you. And take notes. Get names and dates and times and recap before you hang up. (Pro-tip: ASK them to record your conversation as you 'may need it later'. It'll throw 'em off!). 

NateH,

Thank you for the advice. As of today I will be on top of this. I called my case manager at UHC on Monday morning and left her a message letting her know that there was an issue with my case being deleted and that I am very worried and upset. Here it is Wednesday afternoon and I have yet to hear back from her. Everytime I call her directly her voicemail is full so I'm beginning to wonder if she checks her messages on Monday's only. What were the requirements for your employer? My requirements were to have an open case with BRS and 6 months of supervised nutrition visits. BMI also needed to be over 40 which mine is 41.

Mine were similar: BMI of >40 (or co-morbidities), psych eval, 6 monthly visits with nutrition/dietician, etc. So mostly the same it seems. If your case worker isn't getting back to you, call the number on the back of your card. Start there. Play the "I've never done this so I'm not sure what to do" naive card.I'm no slouch, but I played a really good "idiot" to get people to help me. :) 

Honestly after what I dealt with (and no, it wasn't the end of the world), I've learned you have to fight for yourself. I was also kind and appreciative, but I called. A lot. It's fine to get a status. If you don't get a callback in 1 day, call them back. People aren't thinking that they haven't returned your phone call, they're thinking about what they're going to do when they leave work. I mean we all do it, right? I never let more than 2 days go by without hearing something from somebody. Even if it was "still under review". At least I knew someone was looking at something of mine.

My info was submitted to insurance last week (Aetna).  I REALLY REALLY wanna schedule my surgery but have to wait.  I hope you get good news soon.

Others: does it hurt to call your insurance and ask for updates?

My information was just submitted on Tuesday of this week. I will not hesitate to call and check the status. I'm sure they get calls from eager patients all the time. I say you should definitely call for updates. :)