Insurance Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield

  I have been to my first consult seen a shrink seen a neut......But the Neut said I may be required to to do a 6 month diet.  I have Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield - Their wording is " The patient must have actively participated in non-surgical methods of weigth reductin; these efforts must be fully appraised by the physician requisting authorization for surgery"    - To me this means Fully appriaed is the same and reconized by the Dr.  Does anyone else have Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield - How hard was it to get your approval it has taken me 3 months to just get an apt. with the Dr.   

I have Empire BC/BS I am in the doing all my testing stage that is required. I was told that a 6 month diet was required. With a monthly weigh in documenting height, weight, and bmi ect. Hope this helps any other questions feel free to ask. 

I have Empire too and don't require a diet.  I have learned through this site though that it depends upon what your employer elects to do when they decide to offer BC/BS.  My plan with my employer does not require it.  I have documented all attempts at weight loss going back 10 years though to submit with my doctors paperwork.  Empire also has the medical policy available and their is a form that the doctor has to fill out to submit.  Check under the providers tab at Empire and look for Surgery for obesity.

Thanks for supllying this information because I had asked Customer Service if they had the policy on the website, and she said no. Never knew it was under the Provider tab, but I know it is also based on your employer.

Based on the verbiage that you provided, your plan will require a six-month medically supervised weight-management plan as one of the planks to be qualified for bariatric surgery.

Also, just as the previous poster stated, even though you and someone else might be covered under what seemingly is the same plan, employers can choose different riders (i.e. levels of benefits), so you don't want to rely on the plan's name. The best bet is to check your plan's Web site for more information. You can also contact Blue Cross/Blue Shield's customer service department for more information. To ensure that you get the right information, you will want to contact them a few times to compare the information that you receive from each of them.

My best wishes to you in your goal to achieve better health through weight-loss surgery.