Question:
any one with federal BCBS ins in texas

my letter will be sent to my insurance co on may 11th. I have BCBS federal with the postal service. my surgeon and his office has told me that I have the best chance in getting approved for WLS. they said it would probably be approved within 2 weeks. how many others work for the postal service and have BCBS that have been approved? how long did it really take to be approved?    — elizabeth C. (posted on May 9, 2007)

May 9, 2007
Hi, I have BCBS of Rhode Island and my friend in California has it also, both of us got back our approvals in about 2 weeks. BCBS is pretty fast about it. Best of Luck!! Mickey........
   — MCraig3

May 9, 2007
I have federal blue cross blue shield. I live in Central Texas. They approved mine thie first time, and it only took about two weeks. The hardest part was getting all the documentation together which the patient advocate at Scott & White took care of. That took about three months. But it all worked out.
   — MarthaS

May 10, 2007
I'm in MN and just starting the process - I'm a clerk with BCBS so will be watching this to see what responses you get! GL!!
   — Lori A.

May 10, 2007
I have BCBS Fed in Texas and I was approved the first time within about 2 weeks. I had RNY surgery 12-4-06, under Dr. Wade Barker. I also have 4 other friends who have the same insurance who work in the same building I am in that were approved for RNY only. BCBS would not do lapband. Good Luck.... BrendaBoo
   — BrendaBoo

May 10, 2007
Hi...I have BCBS Fed. in Florida and I've been waiting 4 weeks and haven't gotten an approval yet. I hear it's pretty cut and dry. We'll see what happens! Chris Olney, Ocala Florida
   — olney1952

May 10, 2007
My husband works for the IRS in Austin and we have the Fed BCBS Basic plan. They wouldn't precertify my surgery (I had lapband on 2/13/07), but they have standard criteria for medical necessity for WLS so I took a leap of faith. They ended up paying everything and quickly at that!
   — [Deactivated Member]

May 12, 2007
I had my surgery in Feb 2006. I work for USPS in Indiana and had Anthem BCBS. Approval was fast but they failed to notify me or the hospital of that approval. It was two months later that the hospital called to check on my status and was told I had been approved in Oct 2005, and this was now December. As you know, USPS employee don't take leave in December, so my surgery wasn't until Feb of the following year. BCBS had a requirement that the surgery be done within 6 months of approval, so I was cutting it close! Good Luck.
   — Lorie G.