Oxford Insurance Questions???

Hi There - I am just beginning the journey to weight loss...I went to a seminar and the dr. was talking about differnent insurance companies...he said that Oxford Insurance approved more quickly than other ins. companies.  I wanted some feedback if you would regarding Oxford.  I do not have a 6 month dr. monitored weight loss record, does anyone know if this will delay my process? Thanks all!!!  Lisa Live, Love, Laugh

Hi Lisa:

My experience (one plus year ago) was with Dr. Bertha in Morristown ... they got me approved pretty quickly with Oxford insurance as my PCP was also in tune with my decision ... All worked out great and it took about 3 months to go thru the whole process from start to surgery. At this point my Dr does not take Oxford any longer ... I dont know how this will affect anything? I did NOT have to have a medically supervised diet for 6 months ... they was no delay at all, just getting all of the clearances from the Cardiologist, Nutritionist, and Psychologist.

Michael.

Hi Lisa: I have Oxford Liberty and had goten approved in 4 days!! I had my surgery in Nov 2006 with Dr. Bilof @ St. Barnabus hospital in livingston. He is an awesome doctor and will take great care of you.. Good luck and if you need anything just let me know. Charlene

Hi Lisa, I have Oxford and I don't believe that they have a 6 month doctor monitored weight loss requirement.  I went for my consult on May 25, less then two weeks later I received my approval letter, however, be sure to follow up that it was sent to the place you will be having the procedure done, as they somehow forgot to send it to the facility.  I've since gotten all my pretesting done and found out my surgeon is not one of their "in-network providers", so the first $3,500 comes out of my pocket, however the facility will be fully covered.   I chose Barix in Langhorne, PA because that is all they do there (WLS) and their facilities are clean, their staff wonderful, and after all my researching and I did extensive research, their doctors are extremely skilled and competent at the various procedures for WLS, in particular I wanted to laparoscopic gastric bypass, many doctors still only do open, which has a higher incidence of infection and complications, my point is, that I am willing to go out of network on the provider, as she is a wonderfully skilled doctor, with no fatalities, to date, and she has preformed well over 1,000 of these procedures, that is something money can't buy, a sense of total trust in your surgeon! Good luck on your journey and do all your homework, there is a wealth of information on these boards!

I had oxford. I was approved in 2 days. No need for a supervised diet for me. 

I went to the seminar to begin the process in February of 2007, and I had surgery 4/9/07. I did not need to jump through any of the hoops that so many others complain about. No supervised diet, no psych eval, and no sleep study. I was surprised. The only problem that I am having is that my doctor will no longer be participating with Oxford as of 10/1/07. But other than that Oxford has been a real joy to work with. If you have any questions call them and they will help you find their policies regarding Bariatric Surgery. I do believe that the only thing they require is that you have a BMI of 40 or greater. I also believe that if your BMI is not 40 then they look for comorbidities. I hope that helps and good luck to you! You will soon be a happy loser.

Oxford rocks (as far as insurance companies go)!

Wow, great feedback. I am in the process with Oxford. I have been uninsured for a good number of years, so it's difficult for me to go back and provide all this info that I never thought I would need to document! GOD BLESS OXFORD . . . life is not cookie cutter and for other insurance companies to impose so many requirements can be discouraging.  I'm hoping to be scheduled for surgery no later than February! Pray for me please!