I am overjoyed! Here’s how I did it. I followed every guideline
Aetna
had to a T! They asked for a 6 month diet, even though I had been on a diet my entire life, I suffered through a 7 month diet. I hired a trainer and joined a gym who documented my attendance and training sessions. I logged my caloric intake using fitday.com and submitted both my fitday and training logs to my pcp who added them to my medical record. I spent a small fortune on visits with a nutritionist (you don’t have to do that, you only have to have one visit, but I didn’t know that at the time). I asked my pcp to document my training regimen (which changed every month), my caloric intake, and my behavioral modifications (logging on fitday, bought smaller dishes for portion control, taking stairs at work instead of elevator). I wrote a letter of medical necessity for my pcp to put on her letterhead and sign (she was VERY appreciative of this). I never missed or rescheduled a weigh in. If I only lost a few pounds in a month, I offered possible explanations (i.e. I fell off the bandwagon a few days over the holidays, I’m doing less cardio and more weight-lifting).
I lost almost 50 pounds during the 6 month supervised diet (which is actually 7 months July 2006 thru January 2007), but that doesn’t matter. As long as you show you ATTEMPTED to lose weight, you’ll be fine. The moral of the story is, just follow the rules to a T. If your insurer asks for a diet, then do the diet. Do everything in your power to prevent the need for an appeal. My paperwork was submitted on January 31, 2007 and I was approved February 8, 2007. I got the good news yesterday…how’s that for a Valentine’s gift?
