Question:
Has anyone had the surgery using Cigna insurance?

My question is when you submit your paperwork to the insurance company do you have to send your daily diet log? Do you have to have every day for the past 6 months? There are some days I am missing will that matter?    — sheeder1980 (posted on May 7, 2009)

May 7, 2009
Yes, my insurance was Cigna. I am in Colorado, though, and it was an employer-funded policy, so the employer had a great deal of "say" in what they covered. Bariatric surgery was covered, but you had to jump through lots of hoops to get approved. You had to have been on a 6 month Doctor-supervised weight loss and exercise program, meaning you needed to see the doctor every month and be weighed and have your diet documented, and your exercise documented, along with your emotional state of mind, etc. You also need to have at least 5 to 10 years of documentation of being morbidly obese, with weights for each year documented, and the doctor needs to list the different diets you've tried and the outcomes of those diets, along with documentation of your co-morbidities like high blood pressure, diabates type 2, arthritis and joint pain, stuff like that, and copies of labs to back up high triglycerides and high cholesteral, for example. That all needs to be listed in a letter of medical necessity from your doctor to the insurance company, accompanied by copies of your monthly visit notes. Now, my Cigna also offered a "fast track" - where you could see a Registered Dietician and your doctor at the same time, and follow the dietician's diet for 3 months, with all the attendant documentation. Then you have to have lots of tests - pulmonary, EKG/Echo cardiogram, Gasteroenterology, sleep study (for most, not for me), psychological evaluation, and other stuff as the surgeon requires. I did the fast track, but was still denied. However, both my primary care physician AND the insurance person at my surgeon's office got on the phone with Cigna, and pointed out that I'd met all the criteria, and within 10 minutes, I was approved. Good luck to you!
   — Erica Alikchihoo

May 7, 2009
Sorry.... I didn't read your whole question. No, you do not have to submit your daily eating logs. I could have, though, because I kept detailed logs of everything I put in my mouth starting from day one with the dietician. But, no, Cigna didn't require that. They wouldn't even accept my 6 years worth of Weight Watcher's weekly weight logs, because that isn't considered "physician supervised".
   — Erica Alikchihoo