How strict are Ins. Cos. about the 6 month diet?

James: It depends on your insurance company. I have Oxford Liberty and didn't need the supervised diet. I was approved in 4 days. Check your insurance compnay and sww what they say. Charlene

My insurance did not require it either. I had a very quick approval. What ins do you have. It all depends. Our PCP was willing to give us the referal that he had watched me go through it though so it was not a big deal. I have Oxford Freedom through my hubbys work. Check with the doc's office they should be able to tell you. Best of luck, Melissa

James~ All insurance companies are different. I have Horizon BCBS NJ HMO and I was approved in less than 2 weeks! Mine moved along very quickly... the best thing to do is to post what EXACT insurance (PPO, HMO.... all those things...) you do have and someone with the EXACT same insurance can give you better insight. Michelle Brennan 228/184/140

Thanks. My insurance is United Healthcare PPO....anyone have any idea? I've been on several different diets, plus WW 2 different times, but I never saved any of that stuff (typical guy). I never even considered surgery until the Dr. who did my sleep study (severe OSA) told me to look into it.......thanks again...

It's not just the name of the insurance company, but also the plan that your company has purchased. Two United Healthcare PPOs can be very different based on the choices company A has chosen vs. Company B. I'd recommend giving them a call and asking them what is required and to make sure it is a covered benefit. GOOD LUCK. Dawn

If I were you I would start making monthly appointments with your PCP in the event you do have to have 6 months worth of visits. Make sure to tell your PCP to mark down that you were in for weight counseling. I was glad I had to wait because it allowed me to learn a lot more about the surgery and what to expect before, during and afterwards than if I had the surgery right away. I think it will allow me to be more successful. Also, a little trick my surgeon told me about - you can really cut the time down by a month: In my case my 5th month with my PCP is in November. I do not have to wait an entire month to schedule my 6th month visit with him. I can schedule it the beginning of December (which I am going to do) and basically cut off a month.

I have United healthcare Choice Plus which I think is the same. When I originally met with the surgeon they gave me a list of things I needed to take care of before they would submit to insurance: Medical necessity with Primary Care, Psyc evaluation, Pulmunary function test and nutrition classes and support group. After all that was done, they submitted and had an approval in one week. I did call the insurance company to find out what my benefit were under the obesity claim clause and they told me I had to have a BMI of over 40 any they usually look for another contributing problem: High blood pressure, hearth problems, sleep apnea etc. I would suggest just giving the insurance company a call, this way you are the educated consumer and know what is available to you. Good Luck! I am scheduled for Surgery on January 22nd at Centre State in Freehold

Some Insurance companies are very strict....But you don't have to have actual documents from WW. What I did was a list of each of my WL efforts, how many lbs I lost, how many I gained back and approximate dates. My doctor also had documented in my medical chart every bit of diet advice I had been given, and copies of prescritions for WL drugs and actual supervised programs I went to like Optifast Program and another program I went to that was with a dietitian and a social worker... In any case it worked because I was approved with a week of finishing my pre-surgical testing. The testing itself, took way longer than I expected it too...But to tell you the truth, that worked out better for me... Kelly

hi james i had to do the 6 month diet -- no big deal -- it flew by --and i HAD to do it since i have aetna ross had to do a 3 month diet with BC/BS Horizon of NJ -- no big deal it's not about how much weight you gain or lose -- it's just insurance red tape good luck roberta start that 6 month diet now just in case you need it