Insurance

Every insurance company has its own set of policies and criteria for coverage for weight loss surgery and they do change from time to time and most are very employer specific. Contact your insurance company to find out if weight loss surgery is a covered benefit under your plan. If your plan does cover weight loss surgery then find out the different types of weight loss surgeries that are covered.  Ask for the criteria that need to be met in order to get the surgery authorized and document your conversation along with the name of the person you spoke to, date and time for future reference.

Do your research and educate yourself about the insurance coverage and authorization process. If you have additional insurance questions, please Contact our office.

Insurance company criteria for weight loss surgery may include:

	Current weight is 100 lbs over the Ideal Body Weight
	BMI (Body Mass Index) of 40 or above
	BMI between 35 and 40 with co-morbidities like hypertension, diabetes, sleep apnea, cardiovascular disease, etc.
	Documentation of weight loss attempts
	Physician supervised diet program for anywhere between 1 – 12 months
	Psychological Evaluation
	Smoking cessation
	2-5 years of weight history (one record per year)

The Center for Weight Loss Surgeryand Dr. Srikanth are contracted with the following insurance companies:

	Premera Blue Cross
	Aetna
	Regence
	United Health Care
	First Choice Health Network
	Coventry / First Health
	Cigna
	GEHA

At this time, CWLS has opted out of participation in Medicare.