I was denied because after my lap band surgery I lost am amount below thier standards. What I dont understand is why thet care. They didnt pay for my first surgery.

ObesityHelp is for the support and education for anyone affected by obesity.  If you, or anyone you know, is affected by obesity, check out the Non-Surgical Weight Loss board.  Whether you're following an organized weight loss group, diet plan or losing weight on your own without weight loss surgery, we can support you too.  

yay!  so excited for you...you have been thru a lot...BTW  I know the doctor (olchowski)  My brother inlaw Mother had him...Im from NC   we now have 2 great surgeons here that I know about..1 being my own dr....

Best of luck to you!  keep us updated :)

Pretty sure Anthem is the trade name for California BCBS. Their policy statement is here, but it's not too clear on whether or not you need a physician supervised diet. 

http://www.anthem.com/medicalpolicies/policies/mp_pw_a053317.htm

I have been lurking here all lat week, so I wanted to share with you guys, too! Thanks for all of your transparency!

Here is short synopsis of my WLS journey:

July 2000 RNY with Steven Olchowski in NC

2005 Olchowski lost his license in NC for performing variations on the RNY, even mini gastric bypasses

2006 I start having internal bleeding issues---26mths, 3 colonoscopies, 3 endoscopies, 1 camera endoscopy, and a CT scan later---it was found that I had 2 hernias and one had ripped a tear in my intestine (surgery 2008)

April 2014 my sister shared that she is seeking wls, I started scouring OH website for info for her and I learned revisions were possible

June 2014, saw my PCP and she was agreeable to helping in any way she could

August 2014 I picked up CIGNA  as my primary insurance thru work

(as Tricare was our family insurance and has a once a lifetime policy for wls)

Oct 2014 Met with Dr. Folahan  in TX (8 hours from my home)

November 24th packet sent in for pre authorization to CIGNA

December 4th denied by CIGNA because of no proof of compliance with post op (argued that all of that was lost when he lost his practice in NC) and because my BMI is 46 and not 50 or greater

Jan 5th sent my packet of information to my surgeon to begin the appeal process

Jan 16th peer to peer done; APPROVED!!!!!

There is no expiration date on my approval letter, according to surgeon’s office, and they did not submit a date with it. I am praying for June 10th, summer break, so that I can have time to heal and take care of myself, learn my new body and new insides before going back as a high school teacher.

Office mgr is going to set it up for that, and hope that it all goes through well!

YAYAYAYAYAYAAYAYAYAYAAAAAAAA!

Thanks for all of your suggestions and support!

Shelia