United Healthcare Choice Plus

Hello,

I have United Healthcare Choice Plus and am in the waiting stage for approval from them.  They stated that they have 15 business days to review my case and this is day 7.  It is still in pending status and not even assigned to a case manager.

I am looking for feedback from others that have this insurance.  Thanks!

Hello,

We know this process can be nerve racking to say the least   We hope you hear from them soon and all goes well.  Try posting this on your state forum and your surgery type forum also for responses.  You can find the different forums by putting your cursor on the blue bar and Forums.

Please keep us posted of your progress during this journey

Regards,

Member Services

I also have UHC choice plus. The policies on bariatric surgery are employer specific. Does your employer use Optum Healthcare for it's bariatric resources? With the 15 day decision, it sounds like it does. Did you contact Bariatric Resource Services prior to your doctor submitting your packet for approval? I contacted them before I attended the first WLS surgery seminar with my doctor and was assigned a case manager from the beginning. When my doctor submitted my packet 7 months later after I'd completed all the insurance requirements, my case was approved on day 7 (business days). I called on day 7 to check the status and my case manager told me was still "under review" but it was approved later that afternoon. The case manager has nothing to do with the approval process, they can just tell  you what the status is. My timeline looks like this:

Dec 2012 - contacted UHC and was referred to Optum Healthcare, Bariatric Resource Services - 1-888-936-7246

January 10, 2012 - Attended WLS seminar by surgeon

January 12, 2013, I received a letter from UHC, thanking me for contacting Bariatric Resource Services and explaining the services BRS provides along with a booklet explaining the different types of WLS and as well as a checklist of suggestions to get through the approval process. 

January 25, 2013, I got a phone call from my nurse case manager from Optum Health introducing herself. 

January 28, 2013 Consult with Surgeon's assistant, chest x-ray, EKG, Upper GI, and first Dietician visit for 6 month medicially supervised weight loss program

February 25, 2013 - Dietician Visit

March 21, 2013 - Dietician Visit

April 22, 2013 - Dietician Visit

May 24, 2013 - Dietician Visit

June 4, 2013 - Psychological Evaluation and Testing

June 14, 2013 - Last Dietician Visit and lab/blood work (This is when I was stopped on my way out the door and told I would need cardiology clearance too)

June 21, 2013 - Cardiology consult, stress echo scheduled

June 24, 2013 - Stress test/echocardiogram - after test I was told to wait and my cardiologist came in and told me my  test showed an arrythmia (non-sustained ventricular tachycardia) and I needed to see an arrythmia specialist

July 1, 2013 - Cardiology arrythmia specialist, cleared me for surgery, said arrythmia was not dangerous. 

July 10, 2013 - Package sent to UHC for approval

July 19, 2013 - UHC approved me for RNY gastric Bypass

July 29, 2013 - Surgery scheduled for August 21, 2013 - was also told I needed PCP clearance. Really, another hoop to jump through?

August 1, 2013 - Primary Care doctor visit, obtained PCP clearance

August 6, 2013 - Bariatric Surgeon consult, pre-op dietician consult

August 21, 2013 - Surgery. Discharged next day

September 4, 2013 - Post op visit with Surgeon, Dietician, and Post-op Lab/Bloodwork

My suggestion is to call again tomorrow. I waited through the weekend without knowing my case was approved on Friday afternoon AFTER I called and was told it was still under review earlier that day. 

I have UHC choice plus PPO and got approved within 10 business days or so. Mine required 6 months of supervised nutritional visits or with doctors. Also psych eval, etc my program required most of this. Anyway they paid everything and i had no issues getting approval from them. GL to you.

I got approved!!  It took 10 business days.