Question:
Has anyone gotten their insurance company to pay for the visit to the nutritionist?

I have John Deere Select in Iowa. I called this morning to ask and was told that they only cover this if the diagnosis is diabetes, hypertension and one other (sorry it has slipped my mind). It will not cover if it is for bariatric surgery. Has anyone ever appealed an exclusion like this? Is this normal for all insurance companies?    — Sheri D. (posted on January 11, 2002)

January 11, 2002
My insurance, UnitedHealthcare PPO, said the same thing. But then my doctor wrote a brief note saying that he required my nutritionist counseling in order to perform the surgery, so they reimbursed me. It took about 3 months, but it was nice to get an otherwise-unexpected check in the mail. Good luck.
   — Felissa L.

January 11, 2002
my insurance will cover it if you have sleep apnea..and since alot of obese people do...get the sleep study first..then if it comes back positive.. it will pay!!! haha..oh sorry..anyways thats just my insurance and I have Aetna PPO..hope this helps!
   — Jessica L.

January 11, 2002
I have Blue Cross PPO and they didn't pay out for my pre-op testing or nutritional consult. All it took was a phone call letting them know that they had approved my surgery and that the testing and consult were mandatory for surgery. The rep sent in for an adjustment and they paid out. Same thing happened the other day with my surgery. They didn't pay anything and it's because no one bothered to look to see if I had an approval or authorization number. They automatically denied the claim. See if your insurance will pay out for bariatric surgery if you are MO. A lot of insurance policies have exclusions regarding MO.
   — tmrivas