Insurance bcbs ppo.Are they strict?

Im in the process of waiting for my insurance company to approve.Is blue cross blue sheild strict? I hear the insurance companys can be ******** now a days.I dont have any co-morbiditys.but i do have a bmi of about 41.3 shortness of breath and joint problems such as my lower wack and knee's.

Hi I had BC/BS PPO and they were very quick with everything. I had no problems at all and had an approval within 24 hours of everything being submitted to them. The only requirement they had at the time I had surgery was I had to have a weight loss of 5% of my weight before they would accept my nutritionist release. Otherwise, you will have absolutely no problems whatsoever. Marie

Aziza: This is what I know, not to send you good or bad news... just the facts.... Unfortunatley no one but your insurance can answer this question, generally speaking most BLUES now a days are seemingly the one w/ the most 'rules'. You qualify for surgey w/ the BMI (according to the National INSTITUTE for HEALTH) but what YOUR individual policy states is what they will go by. With that said for instance two people may have the same company but policies and riders are individual based on youremployers policy, they are not interchangeable unfortunately. I would ask to have a copy of my policy sent to me w/ the area about bariatric surgey outlined. I know the Blues are the ones starting to require 6 or 12 month medically supervised/documented weight loss attempts, and that means weighing in monthly (if you miss a month the 6 or 12 months starts over! again) pre approval, this is not ALL blues but most (In my experience going to and running support groups over the past 4 yrs). The trend is most insurances are being more strict. (seeing as over past 5 yrs bariatric surgery has gone from 20,000 to 150,000 a yr in US at 25-50K a pop!, we all know insurances are about $$$). So have you been thru all the other hoops w/ your bariatric program and are now awaiting approval? USUALLY the sureons office knows your policy and what is needed (THIS IS NOT A GUARANTEE) and sometimes they just seem to snaggle someone from time to time, FIGHT for what you need and keep us posted! Wish u well. Take Care, Jamie Ellis RN MS NPP Lap RNY 10/9/02 Dr. Singh 320/163 5'9'' (lost 45# before surgery) Plastics 6/9/04 & 11/11/2005 Dr. King http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/members/profile.php?N=c1132518510 "Being happy doesn't mean everything's perfect, it just means you've decided to see beyond the imperfections!"

I obtained quick and easy approval with BLUE CROSS BLUE SHIELD PPO of course that was over a year ago. I also figure my doctors office prepared things perfectly too! good luck lisa

I got a response within 5 business days w/ BCBS PPO. I got approved w/ a 40 BMI w/ no co-morbiditys. But I had my surgery 14 months ago and all these insurance companies change their policies frequently. GOOD LUCK!!!!!!!!!!!!! Ilyssa 268/160 at goal!