Question:
My insurance kicks in on Oct 1..I have aetna ppo..bmi is

54.7...I only proof that I went to a diet center for 3 months back in 97..then i went to a dr. this year 1 time he precribed me pills that I thought would kill me..I really dont have a pcp I never had insurance before now to go..i am having horrible problems with swelling,blood pressure, but to afraid to go to dr afraid the insurance people will say its a preexisitng problem and make me wait..my suurgeon appt is also on oct 1...what are my chances    — tylerswife (posted on September 14, 2001)

September 13, 2001
I also have Aetna PPO and started w/ approx the same BMI. I wrote a letter with my diet history citing every diest I ever did, WW, Jenny Craid, Cabbae soup, starvation, ect. Find a PCP who will write you a referal and you should be fine. It did take about 30 days for them to approve me, but I have seen others that were approved thru Aetne a lot faster. i also had no co-morbs. Good Luck.
   — Sue B.

September 13, 2001
I too have Aetna approx the same BMI, but Aetna has denied my surgery twice because I don't have enough Doctor supervised weight loss attepmts. I actually do have them, but the Doctors are either deceased or retire so I have no way of getting the records. I sent a 3 page letter giving dates, weight lost and programs to Aetna with my first appeal letter, but they only want something supervised by a Doctor. I hope Aetna is kinder to you then they have been me. I have an appointment with my PCP to start my history so after 6 months I will start the process all over again! Best of Luck to you!
   — Kim M.

September 14, 2001
i have aetna ppo also. i didn't need a referal from my pcp to go to my surgeon. my bmi was around 45, i'm 31 years old and i had no physical problems from my weight. aetna only required a 5 year diet history form me, and when i seen that i almost died. i didn't have a 5 year diet history. i had my pcp office release whatever information they did have and was approved 3 weeks later. aetna was a wonderful company to work with for this surgery. i would however be careful about the pre-existing conditions part though. you may want to check with them on that. they refused to pay some other medical bills for knee surgery before my approval for the wls, but that was all going on at the same time and they did still approve me. if i confused you you can email me.
   — Andrea T.