Cigna 90 Day Supervised Diet

Hello All!

I have Cigna as an insurance provider and they have stringent requirements for approval of the RNY procedure.   I have no problem with the evaluations and the psychiatric stuff, etc.  However, this 90 day supervised diet thing is killing me.   It's not the food or the fact that I have to follow directions (I assume I'll be following directions for the coming years in order to do this properly), my issue is that I feel like Im in a 90 day holding pattern for no reason.   

I've been researching this procedure, the doctor, the process and the aftermath for nearly a year. I understand the choice that I am making.  Why force me to wait 90 days under the guise of 'supervised diet' for approval.  I'm super frustrated.

Has anyone else had this feeling?  Anyone have a suggestion on how to deal with it?

Thanks!

I also had Cigna with the waiting period.  I know it seems frustrating, but there are SO many appts that need to happen after that first consult - labs, other consults, evals - that it flew by.  It was a hoop to jump through, and a frustrating one at that. In hindsight though,  I was glad to have the time for all the appointments and paperwork - and as much as I had researched it, I was also glad to have the time to emotionally get ready.

Good luck to you! Hang in there and we'll see you on the loser's bench much sooner than it feels right now.

Wow 90 days would have been nice! My supervised weight management period was 6 months, and WLS wasn't covered at all until I'd had my insurance for 2 years. But that time has been incredibly helpful for me. I'm SO glad surgery fell through when I was going to go self-pay 3 years ago. My head is in so much better a place than it was then with no required pre-op supervised diet.

This is designed to help you succeed after surgery -- use it to your advantage!

Yes, you are basically in a 90 day holding pattern... some people have 6 months or more. It sucks and I personally think it is discriminatory.

I'm not sure there are ANY other surgical treatments that you need to jump through as many hoops as weight loss surgery does... If someone was diagnosed with severe coronary artery disease they are not required to then document their heart disease for the next 6-12 months before receiving a coronary stent or cardiac bypass procedure. 

So they spin it as learning your new lifestyle, lots of classes, appts & tests (many not covered) but it's wrong IMHO. One of the reasons I joined the Obesity Action Coalition... access to care issues www.obesityaction.org

Sending you good wishes the time flies and all is smooth with your WLS and beyond. It was the best gift I ever gave myself (and I was self pay so it was a gift to me)

~Michelle "Shelly"

I had Blue Shield and I had to undergo six months of a supervised diet.  You're lucky 

I also think the waiting period requirement is discriminatory but I was with Cigna and went through it too. I did utilize my 90 days well though and lost over 50 lbs pre-op. I also made sure to change my habits during that time to make post-op easier (ie, stopped sodas, all carbonated beverages, all caffeinated drinks, stopped drinking with meals with the 60 minute after waiting period, etc ). I also used that time to find a therapist since I know there is a lot of work to so mentally as well. 

I hated the wait, I seriously did BUT now 2 weeks post-op I am thankful to have had the time to prep myself. I feel like it's made my post-op so much easier.

Good luck and make the most out of the waiting game. You will be glad you did!

Another hoop to jump through......but you'll probably have so many other appointments, that the time will fly.  When I started the process, they told us it usually takes six months to get through the process....and believe me, the time flew.  Have you started your other appts. yet?  I had to do the sleep apnea testing, get cardio clearance (which involved stress test too), two NUT appt., two psych appt., surgeon appt.  four group classes, exercise consult..........etc., etc., etc. It took forever to get through the sleep apnea testing.....had to wait forever for the first doctor's appt., then go to informational meeting and pick-up test equipment, then follow-up appt. with th doctor........  I was luck to get a "cancellation" appt. for the NUT, as her appts. were scheduled three months out.....Oy Vey!!

You'll get through it.  No sense getting upset... it is what it is!    Don't worry, you'll be on the Losers' Bench soon.

I also have Cigna & I had to do the same thing & i'm kinda glad the wait is so much shorter than it is with other companies, plus it gave me time to get used to the post op lifestyle like not eating & drinking at the same time. Doing more research, & thankfully I switched from going for the lap band to the sleeve cuz ultimately I felt the sleeve was a better fit for me.

It gave me time to start thinking & tackling the mental stuff, getting into exercise, asking people questions, & getting support from people, especially on this site. Etc, etc.

Try not to see it as a holding pattern, use the time to learn & get yourself together. The 90 day thing is just Cigna testing you to see if you're willing to jump thru all the hoops to get the surgery, & it's them seeing if you'll actually go thru with the surgery. I'm sure there are plenty of people who back out & decided to give dieting another chance, or people lose their job & the insurance that went with it.

I have Cigna, but had to wait six months. Actually, it ended up being a year, as I had a hard time losing the weight my center required of me. 

With that said,  I truly don't believe it is meant to help us learn what our new lifestyle will require. I believe it is an attempt to save money, as a lot of people will not follow through, thus saving the insurance company money. 

You could self pay, like many of us, and avoid the waiting period.  

when you choose your provider, you have to abide by their rules.

Many people have much more than a 90-day supervised period.

It is really a short time in relation to the whole picture.