I honestly don't remember for sure.  I know they had a couple different plans to choose from.  I want to say it was around $1000 for the plan i picked maybe a little more but it was so worth it.  They do all the work and you just sit back and wait.  It was a long year of a battle but so work it cause i am now 140 pounds less!  Good luck!

my doctor office did a peer to peer and i was denied didn't receive the denial letter but was trying to get a head start on an appeal i have personal choice insurance..can anyone help me i was trying to get the band removed and revise to vsg

Did cal optima ever cover the procedure. That's what I have and starting out?

My process with Cigna was SO smooth! I recently got approved and am having the surgery on March 18th. I went to my PCP for the 3 month weight management program. Luckily my PCP was very understanding of the irrational insurance requirements. So I first weighed in with my clothes on and for each month visit I was maybe a pound or two down. By the last one I was under 40BMI so we just tweaked the weight up a little bit so it wouldn't cause an insurance issue. Just make sure you have 4 visits - each at least 30 days apart. My weight was up and down during those visits, and that didn't matter. My PCP and I didn't talk much about eating and exercise since I had done it all before. She wrote down some things about reduced calories and increased activity on what she submitted to Cigna. Basically, just have a conversation with your PCP about exactly what your insurance requires and see if he/she is willing to work with you to make it work. I think this is pretty common. The doctors and my surgeon's office were also really familiar with it. The only requirement I had was that I couldn't gain more than 10 pounds from starting their program. But they were totally understanding about me not being able to lose any weight before getting approved by insurance.  My biggest recommendation is just to get a copy of Cigna's bariatric surgery coverage policy and bring it to all of your doctors to use as a checklist. If you have everything on the list, it won't be a problem at all. Hope that helps! Oh - also, Cigna approved me within a week of getting the paperwork, which was nice.

I am so glad you followed up.  That is awesome news!  Good for you!

I also would not *normally* suggest someone wait and see.  But, given that choice or the choice of giving up, what does waiting and see cost?  I agree being proactive is the best way to go - but sometimes, one just doesn't have the energy to invest in that.  

I'm glad you found the energy.  Yay you!