Question:
How do I get insurance approval?
Please forward Information Sheets to me. I am trying to obtain all of the information I can because I am in need of the surgery and want to make the process of obtaining permission from my Insurance provider and also want to know what to expect from the surgery procedure itself. My email address is [email protected]. Thank you in advance for your help. — Vaneda B. (posted on December 24, 2002)
December 23, 2002
Hi, The first thing you need to do is chose a surgeon. His office will get
the ball rolling on your insurance approval. But you can call the customer
service number on your insurance card and ask them if this surgery is
covered.Tell them it is for gastric bypass surgery for morbid obesity.
Sometimes they have an exclusion which means that unless they state for
medical necessity only there is no way around it. Do all your research here
at this ssite. You can find out anything you want to know by going into the
different sections here. Good luck
— Delores S.
December 23, 2002
Welcome, be sure to look at the before and after photos here. You might
want to buy a book like this one. It was written by a member here Barb
Thompson.<P>http://www.wlscenter.com/ <P> Do check out my
surgeons on line realplayer support group meetings. Just be patient so it
has time to load.
<P>http://www.upmc.edu/obesitysurgery/monthlySupportGroup.htm
— bob-haller
December 24, 2002
Do call your insurance company's customer service line. However, no matter
what they tell you, ask them to send it to you in writing. My customer
service rep told me the surgery wasn't covered, so I asked for it in
writing. My policy doesn't cover treatment for obesity because it is not a
'disease', but it does cover the surgery under certain conditions. I more
than met those conditions and had no trouble getting approved. I would do
that before I did anything else.
— garw
December 26, 2002
Vaneda, check out this website: "http://www.obesitylaw.com" --
it has a lot of information that I think you'll find extremely helpful.
When the website comes up, you'll see the homepage and another smaller
"window" that pops up on top of it showing their address change.
You can just close that window, to view the homepage for The Obesity Law
& Advocacy Center. Scroll down, and near the bottom of the page you'll
see an "index" of the various "sections" for the
website. Click on the word "Articles" -- you'll find some
excellent advice here regarding insurance. Make sure you read ALL of the
articles. If you don't have time just then, print out the stuff and save
it for when you have more time. But I'm sure that you'll find this site to
be extremely helpful.
— Allison S.
December 12, 2009
I used ObesityLaw.com to overturn my denial from Aetna. They are terrific,
committed to equal rights for the obese and low cost. Since most insurance
companies try to deny procedures based on their own non-medical criteria
(which they are not allowed to do) be prepared for an initial denial. Don't
let it throw you (or stop you). Your bariatric surgeon will go over all the
different types of surgery and proceedures to help you make an informed
decision. You'll find a lot of helpful information from people here as well
that gives you the patient's perspective. Good luck. K
— SeattleBiggie
Click Here to Return