Hi everyone! Sorry if this seems too general, but I've been looking into WLS (Lap Band in particular) for quite a long time now. I know just about everything there is to know pertaining to that particular procedure so I'm very well informed in making this choice, but honestly I have no idea how to get the ball rolling! I have pretty lousy insurance (Basic state insurance, aka Blue Advantage) and I'm not sure how to tell if they will pay for this surgery. They're really stingy about what they cover, and in the coverage guide there's an asterisk next to Bariatric Sugery that says it requires authorization from a specialist, which is where I'm confused. Do I go to my regular doctor or am I supposed to find a surgeon and start there? It seems odd to me to go the second route not even knowing if I can pay for the procedure. If they do cover it, I'm certainly qualified so that's not what I'm concerned about.
Basically what I'm asking is, for all of you lap banders out there, how did you get the ball rolling on getting the surgery?