[Motherly27]

I JUST WANTED TO KNOW IF THERE WAS ANYONE THAT HAD INFO. ABOUT UNITED HEALTHCARE..

I TRIED TO GET INFO. BEFORE FROM THE REPS. AT UHC BUT GOT NO WERE...

AT THIS POINT SOME PEOPLE R SAYIN THEY REQUIRE 6MONTH SUPERVISED DIET...

I HAVE BEEN GETTING WEIGHED IN OFF AN ON BY MY DOCTOR FOR THE LAST 2YEARS..(I WAS ON ADIPEX-P) IS THAT ENOUGH?

[kimtindall]

I have United Healthcare, but it actually depends on your CERTAIN policy limitations. My husband works for a big company that carries all of the decision making regarding the contract issues so it was extremely easy for me with 5 years medical history of being overweight. I suggest that you call and call agian until you get someone that can actually give you the answers to all of your questions. And when you do, ask them for a reference # so when you happen to call back again, you can quote exactly what you were told by the last person.

[Motherly27]

Kim, Thanks For The Info. When You Said That You Just Had To Prove 5years Of Being Over Weight..

Does That Means That You Were Never Weight And Height For Five Years Or That You Were Over The Bmi Of 40 For Five Years..

I Am Waitin On Uhc To Open An I Will Update You When I Gett Off From Work On The Info,, I Found Out...

Thanks Again!!!!:d

[courtneey]

I have IBA Insurance which is owned by United Healthcare and they do no cover weightloss surgery of any type. Hope you have better luck!

[kimtindall]

Yes Motherly, all I did was get 1 progress note for each year for 5 years from my PCP. I actually submitted 7 years worth and I was approved within 2 days. My weight ranged from 296-266 for all of those years.

[Motherly27]

Kim, I Took Your Advice And Call Till I Got Answers,,yes It Took 5 Times But I Was Told That All I Need Is:

1) Bmi Over 40

2) A List Of Diets I Have Tried That Were Non-surgical

3) Notes Of My Weight For The Last 5 Years That I Was Obese

4) Pcp Referral

Now, I Asked Her When She Say Obese Does That Mean My Bmi Had To Be Over 40 For 5 Years R Just Never Weight An Height She Claim She Was Not Sure.( I Have Always Been Considered Obese But Now Morbid Obese For The Last Couple Of Years)never Weight An Height

Kim, Do You Know...r Anyone Else That Can Help

[DocSanae]

BMI is calculated from your height and weight.
Basically, your height doesn't change much after you've grown (you lose half an inch or so with old age) so, if you have your weight recorded, it's easy enough to calculate if your BMI's been over 40 for 5 years.

[Motherly27]

So Docsanae, You Think When She Said That I Need The Last 5 Years Of Record To Show That I Was Obese Means That My Bmi Had To Be Over 40 For The Whole 5 Years...because Obese Is Not A Bmi Of 40 For My Height 5'7...obese On The Weight Scale I Have Form The Doctor Said 230 Is Obese And Morbid Obese Is 255 Or More And I Am 259

[DocSanae]

Weighing 230 at your height puts your BMI at 35. 255 puts you at 40.
BMI 35 is obese.
FYI the medical criteria is too low below 18.4, normal range BMI is 18.5-24.9, overweight 25-29.9, obese over 30, morbidly obese over 40 and super morbidly obese over 50.
The NIH criteria for weight loss surgery (which the insurance companies use with some refinement on their own) is, BMI over 35 plus 2 or more comorbidities due to obesity, or BMI 40 without any comorbidities.
So, if your BMI has been over 35 for more than 5 years, some insurance cos accept that, but I have heard say that some require over 40 for 5 years.

[kimtindall]

No one ever specifically told me that my progress notes had to state what my BMI was, they just wanted to see that I didnt "become overweight over night". Really stupid I think, but they just wanted to see that it was something that I had struggled with for years. I dint have to have any type of proff of supervised weightloss, just a list of things that I had tied on my own, including any rx weightloss drugs. I got all of my progress notes and took them with me to my initial consult and they opened a case for me that day. UHC does so much stuff online and everything was submitted via fax after the case was opened.