6 month insurance documented diet

Just out of curiousity, if your insurance requires a 6 month physician documented diet, did your doctor actually require you to do it for 6 months? 

::edit::   Could it be different for each person with the same exact insurance plans?  1 person gets approved without the diet and the other needs the 6 month diet docs for the approval..

If its required for you to do a 6 month diet then you will not get approved with out it. Its really easy you just go to your doctor he weighs you and he writes down what you have been eating and what not. Its will all pay off its not that bad trust me!

Make sure that they take your vitals as well as your weight.  make sure that he documents your weight and exercises.  Also you may need to see a dietitian also. So check to see if that is a requirement.  Who is your Ins.  Aetna has a three month multidisciplinary that can be done in place of the 6 months. So you might check into that also. Every INS is different. Skye

I had just switched Drs when I wanted WLS and my new doctor basically knew nothing about me. When we discussed WLS I got the requirements and my insurance co accepted 10 mos of diet history/weigh ins from LA Weight Loss (which I had been struggling on for about 11 mos)

It was awesome...I would suggest if ANYONE ANYWHERE documented your weight...even weigh****chers, submit it. If you went to your doctor at any time within the last 6 mos - count those...also if you were seen at the ER or OBGYN...get your weight on those too. As long as you were weighed in for 6 mos anywhere, have your doctor write it up and submit a weight history for 6 mos.

To answer your question, it is up to the employer who puchases the  policy on whether or not a 6h montth diet is reqired.  Yes, two people wtith BCBS of CA  (or whichever ins) can have diffierent elegibility requirements. Some employers buy the policies that only cosver WLS if your BMI was above 40 for the last 5 years, regardless of your medical history. Some buy the plan with the diet, some don't. If you cannot get a straight answer from your insurer, submit for approval while you are doing the diet monthly with your doc or nut. The worst case is that it gets denied because you need to do the diet, then you finish the diet and resubmit. There is nothing to lose with this scenario. I do it all the time for my patients, I just tell them up front, there insurance co would not be clear with us, so we are submitting in case, please make sure you do the diet until we find out in writing from them, and not to be upset because we see a denial letter.

Good luck!

Bonnie