Question:
Are there any tips anyone can share to get quick approval?

I have contemplated this surgery for several years and now that I have decided I am worth it ... I just want to get into the surgery as quickly as possible. Is there anything I can do to obtain insurance approval quickly? I have not submitted yet, my PCP is totally behind me and has tremendous confidence in the surgeon he is recommending to me. They have had 15 successes in the last 5 years together. I just want to help the process to go swiftly if I can.    — desi_den (posted on September 8, 2007)

September 8, 2007
Go to the surgeon and have him start the process with the insurance company. They generally take 3 mos or more to get approval, howerev I was approved right away and was schedualed for surgery within weeks of my approval. You can contact you insurance company for pre-approval, that's what I did to see if my policy covered it. It did, 100%. I was operated on Aug 7th and it is a little over one moth and all the bills have been paid. Do not be afraid to get pre-approval. It is just a matter of rather your policy covers you or not. Perhaps it will only pay 80%....so what, there are payment plans. I am down 20 pounds and have had NO problems. Good luck!
   — bderuiter

September 8, 2007
I believe that it is a matter of what insurance you have. Mine requires 6-month PCP diet, a psychological evaluation and lots of paperwork. I finally (since 5/25) have my 1st surgeon appointment on Monday. Best of luck to you. Deb
   — dthomp

September 9, 2007
The process is what it is. I dont believe u can rush a group of people to do their jobs. Everything for me has been a hurry up and wait process, with everyone saying this step will take 2-3 weeks. I could just scream! Patience is not my strong suit. I have been through the complete process along with approval from my insurance company and am now waiting 2-3 weeks for a surgery date, then im sure it will be more than another 2-3 weeks for the surgery. Gonna have to learn to have patience.................I'm sure their is a bright side to all of this........Oh yea the SURGERY!!!! Your not alone. We all want to hurry up and be healt hy.
   — ka11e

September 9, 2007
I had to have a psych eval, pumonolgy test, cardiac eval, appt with a nutritionist, pcp letter of support, etc. Once this was done... the bariatric doctor sent the letter of medical necessity to the insurance company (BCBS of Georgia) and I was approved in 3 days. I am scheduled for surgery 9/11/07! Alot will depend on you... if you can get all of your appts out of the way and the reports sent back to your bariatric doctor... it shouldn't take too long. It will depend on what insurance carrier you have though!
   — twinkytoes

September 9, 2007
It totally depends on what your insurance rules are. Saying that, I would want to find a surgeon who has done a lot more than 15 in 5 yrs. The more experience a dr has, the better results you will have and fewer complications. My dr has been doing them for years and has never lost one. But 2 people died waiting on the surgery. My surgeon is awesome. I had almost no pain with an open rny.
   — geneswife

September 10, 2007
Go to the Obesity Lawyers, the Linstrome family. They will take care of filing the paperwork and filing it CORRECTLY. My surgeon's office wasn't as aggressive as I would have liked, but the Linstrome family is. They will also tell you if there are any programs to assist in paying for their services. Mine was completely free.
   — aer_rn

September 12, 2007
It's totally depends on what insurance company you have coverage under. I have BCBS Federal and my doctor had approval in two weeks. GOOD LUCK !!!
   — AngelaC.