Cigna patient sweating bullets

Tomorrow is my medical clearance visit where they'll then submit all my info to Cigna. 

Through my surgi center we have to:

• required WLS seminar
• surgical consultation
• ERD
• GI endoscopy w/ surgeon
• Psych consult (she required me to start weekly sessions with a therapist and see a nutritionist 1 on 1 before she cleared me)
• Cardiologist consult (EKG and Echo)
• Pulmonologist consult for a pulmonary function test (I also had to have a sleep study as I never had one before)
• 3 months of nutrition classes through the joint Weight Loss Institute's program (to satisfy cigna's requirement)
• 3 life skills classes about the sleeve
• Blood work
• Medical clearance with endocrinologist
• Endo submits case to insurance company
• Surgical clearance 
• 2 weeks opti-fast

I started this process 3 years ago but my former company had a rider on their policy so I had to stop. Started all over again February of this year. 

I have heard so many problems reported with Cigna giving approvals. Well actually it seems they are black or white. I either hear great stories or horror stories. I am scared to death I didn't do enough even though I followed the surgeons check list above and went to every doctor and had every test. I have a BMI of 52, P.C.O.S., mild apnea, and reflux. 

Anyone out there experience problems with Cigna approvals? Sorry if this has been asked a million times. I don't think I'll sleep tonight because my nerves are on edge! 

Holy cow! You have jumped through many hoops. May your efforts take you to where you want to go. My insurance was through Cigna, and the only litch was that my personal dr. Had to ( and forgot to) submitt a recomondation for the procedure- clearance. Wen tat was submitted- all was approved- also, if for some reason, you are disapproved, ask for the SPECIFIC reason for the denial , comply, and resubmitt. Good luck in this!

Thank you!

Yes, CHRIAS (the surgeons office) is pretty strict but they give patients a folder and a checklist packet to follow and give all the scripts up front. They also send you to the weight loss institute for all the classes and they handle the case file and the insurance. Hopefully I have done enough or done it correctly I should say. 

 

I was approved in 2000 by CIGNA all i did was fill out a questionnaire and send it back to the dr.  I didn't even meet the dr until the morning of surgery. For my revision they had 4 things i was required to have the denied me at first but overturned their denial in less than 4 days when my advocate sent in all of my diet information.  CIGNA has been good to me throughout the years but maybe because I was costing them too much money super fat! LOL

I hope I get lucky and get through the approval without a lot of nonsense. Lol--I keep saying the same thing. They'll save money if they help me now rather than later! :-) 

It really does save insurance co. $$. In 1997 i had the onset of diabetes and was in Icu for 10 days. When I got the bill in the mail it was 97k. Then i was taking 8 insulin shots a day. Then after my wls they didn't have any contact with me for about 6 or 7 years when i got In a car accident. i think with all the stuff you provided them they will approve you! You weren't giving any room to say they needed anYthing else from you. Lol

I have cigna, and had only one issue with my approval process--there was so much paperwork, that it didn't go in one FAX, and so the initial approval (after 3 days) was so shocking that I didn't even have time to call and curse the folks out before the 2nd response came saying I was approved--they had one the first denial based on half the information (first fax) and once they realized there was more information, they reviewed QUICKLY and approved.

 

Stopped my heart for a few minutes, but if you've checked all the boxes, you should get the approval.  GOOD LUCK!!