Question:
12 month doctor supervised diet

Has anyone here been insured by BC/BS of Florida and recently needed proof of 12 month supervised diet by doctor. How did you handle that if you couldn't prove this.    — Sue Johnson (posted on September 15, 2002)

September 15, 2002
I am insured with HumanaHMO and they required the same information from my doctor. The only thing I had documented was a prescription for Phentermine, in the Summer '01, by my PCP. I asked her to write a letter stating that information and how much I lost (a whopping 8 lbs in 3 mos) during that time. Even though I had tried other diets over the past year, she didn't feel comfortable stating that as fact to the insurance company. So....what I did was talk to the internal medicine Dr. I had seen this past year for diabtes and thyroid nodules. I wrote a letter, with my family medical history, my diet attempts for the past year, how much weight I lost/re-gained with each and my current medical problems. I asked him to put the letter in 'his voice' on his letterhead and send it to my surgeon. It took three weeks, but he practically used word for word what I had written. The combination of the two letters put enough of a 12 month history to satisfy Humana. I would suggest you talk to your Dr and see if he/she is supportive of doing the same. Hope you get your approval!
   — TanaMom2JAM

September 15, 2002
Requirements like this are only made to try to prevent surgery. Perhaps thinking some will loose interest. Its a well known fact that less than 1% of MOs will lose a 100 pounds or more and keep it off. So requiring diet history doesnt matter to anyone but a bean counter behind a insurance company desk trying to cut costs. Same for insurance requiring so many pounds lost bEFORE WLS approval. All a sham to save money...
   — bob-haller

September 15, 2002
I have heard that Jenny Craig and Weight Watchers and things like that have been counted as they are supervised. I did both and told my insurance company that if they chose, I would sign a release for them to track down the information. They did not want to waste the man power (money) tracking the info...RNY 10/15/02..1 month to go! Good Luck!
   — cherokey55