Disappointed

Well, saw my PCP today. He and I were happy with my progress on the medically supervised diet. I had met all the requirements except for 3 more nut consults and 4 more pounds ( it was my monthly time and I was retaining fluid). Anyway, we thought we would be done by the end of June and then have the surgery set for July. It was under our impression from the ins wordings used that the requirement needed to be met WITHIN 6 months - mine would have been completed in 3 months.......only to find out that it is a 6 month program. So I will have 3 months of waiting......and waiting.......and waiting.....Although I would had met all the requirement!, I was hoping to have the surgery in the summer because my family's schedule is packed in the fall. My PCP is a nice guy and he apologized- not his fault.
I'm thinking of writing an appeal letter to BCBS. Has anyone cross
this road before? Just a little disappointed and blue and had a slice of cheesecake to make me feel better but it didn't work. Enough of my ranting and ramblings.

If you are in CA, you can have the 6 month diet waived. But it can take as long as 5 months to go through all the levels of appeal.

I don't know about other states.

 Does your surgeon have someone who deals with insurance? My clinics ins. lady ended up writing directly to BCBS (thru Boeing) due to a separate issue and it was able to be straightened out. 

I hope you find a way around this. How frustrating!

My insurance didn't have a 6 mon weight period, but my surgeon had a 12 support/training requirement so it took almost the whole 6 months to get the 12 meetings in.  Good luck.  If you can't get it changed, just make the best of it and learn, learn, learn and have a great summer.

I also had a 6 month waiting time, and at the onset and was very. very upset about it.  Now in hindsight, I realize that I did learn a lot from the nut and exercise meetings and was able to start changing my lifestyle successfully about mid-way through the 6 months.  By the time of surgery, the diet changes were feeling like my new normal and I was in an exercise routine that I have been able to comfortably keep up post-surgery.  I think I could have accomplished it all in maybe four months, but still, I now see some method in the madness, besides just the insurance company trying to see if they can out-wait you. 

~~Dee

My insurance a six month supervised weight loss and 6 months of counseling or support meetings.  They had to be consecutive and one each month or you had to start over.  I had already done the six month weight loss, but had to do the 6 months of counseling so mine actually took almost a year.
Good luck.  Hope you can get it worked out.
Linda