The WLS surgery program I am in has an insurance specialist who knows all that stuff inside and out. I jumped through the insurance hoops myself with my PCP, and was surprised at how many people at the first group seminar had not sorted their insurance stuff out yet. The insurance specialist met with each of them to workout their own path toward getting approval.

My suggestion is to find the closest Bariatric Center of Excellence and give them a call. You will certainly learn something!

Rob

I'm on the new Healthy Michigan Plan where you have to pick a health plan. I picked Meridian. They cover ONLY the lapband and Rny. It looks like a ton of hoops to go through before they approve. I didn't pay much attention to the under 40 bmi stuff. Over 40 bmi you have to get a referal from primary doc, successfully complete 6 months of weight watchers, they sign you up for it and pay for it as long as you complete their requirements. After that 6 months you have to complete the surgeons 6 months diet and nutrition program. Plus do the other requirements that are basics, info session, psych eval ect.

This is just what I found on their website not the Healthy MI one. So I'm not 100 % sure that its covered. I can't go in until June 1st to see my primary because that's when my insurance kicks in with meridian.

Don;t know about the MI insurance, I had insurance through my employer that covered it. I'd start with your PCP to get them onboard (because insurance will most certainly require a letter from them in addition to any other pre-surgery requirement), then find a Bariatric Center of Excellence near you and go to a free info seminar. They will have someone who specifically handles insurance questions on their team. They can give you better information and, if the insurance you have covers it, they can help navigate all the paperwork. Don't let the 6 month requirement deter you - I had a 6 month monitored diet, many pre-tests, etc etc. I can tell you that it FLEW by. I can't even believe that I am now a little over a year since I started the whole process. I had surgery at the end of October.