Insurance coverage for gastric bypass or other weight loss surgery

If a severely or morbidly obese patient qualifies medically for a weight loss surgery, the bariatric surgeon's office will begin a series of steps that begin with a request for pre-approval for coverage of the bariatric gastric bypass surgery from the obese patient's health insurer. This arduous task may take from a few weeks to few months. During this insurance authorization process, it is sometimes necessary for the bariatric surgeon's office and the obese patient to be very persistent to obtain approval. When the insurance company gives its pre-authorization, the obese patients are notified by the bariatric or general surgeon's office. In most cases, a date for the bariatric gastric bypass surgery operation will be scheduled during this notification. For obese patients not covered by insurance, there are self-pay options.