Waiting game

How long did it take from the inital consultation till you were approved for surgery? I know all insurance companies are different. I have Empire BC/BS HMO so if any one has had that it will be great. Just looking to know how long the process can take...Thank you all

I started my process in March '10, was approved in October, and had surgery November '10. I had a few extra requirements I had to fulfill above and beyond what the doc usually requires, so it might have taken a little longer than it would have normally, but I also didn't have to go through any supervised dieting/ongoing nutrition or psych classes.

I'm just going to copy and paste this from my profile:

At the end of July my paperwork was submitted my insurance company, United Health Care. I heard back within one to two weeks. They had approved me, but they were going to require me to do 3 months of supervised weightloss. This was because I didn't have any documented weightloss attempts in the last 5 years. Also, because I didn't have a Primary Care Physician in that time either. In the end this was blessing. I was able to meet with the nutritionist I would be working with after surgery. I met with her in August, September (this was the visit we scheduled my surgery for 11/11), and then again in October.

After my surgeon agreed to do the procedure and the paperwork was submitted I had an approval in 5 days from Anthem BC BS. I called the ins company everyday to see if they received the preauthorization request, and then to check on the status of my request.

i started the process in july. they verified that the procedure was covered by my insurance but i had to do six months of medically supervised diet. i started right away and they gave me my surgery date on december 10th. technically, the surgery hasn't been approved by my insurance company but i should know by next week. i've done everything they require, though, so hopefully it won't be an issue and i have an hmo with cigna

Thank you so much. I know that this, as in anything worth having will have to be waited for, I am so excited that it is becoming more a reality