Medicare Advantage · Recuperación de peso post-bariátrica · Versión completa en inglés: /pa-letter/medicare-advantage--post-bariatric/

Carta de PA para Medicare Advantage: Recuperación de peso post-bariátrica.

Plantilla defensible de carta para Wegovy or Zepbound. Patients with weight regain after bariatric surgery qualify under the obesity indication if current BMI is 30 or above (or 27 with comorbidity). Surgical history is supportive, not exclusionary.

La carta misma está en inglés porque el revisor del plan la lee en inglés. La envuelve y la firma su clínico.

Plan
Medicare Advantage
Medicare Advantage Part C with embedded Part D
Enviar a través de
Plan-specific portal or CoverMyMeds
Tiempo de respuesta
72 hours standard, 24 hours expedited
Plazo de apelación
60 days from denial notice (Medicare appeals)
Cita de política: Plan-specific Medicare Advantage formulary and PA criteria.
Nota del plan: Medicare does not cover GLP-1 for obesity indication under federal statute (the 2003 MMA exclusion). For patients with documented type 2 diabetes, Medicare Advantage plans cover Ozempic and Mounjaro under the T2D indication. For patients with established cardiovascular disease and obesity or overweight, Medicare Advantage plans may cover Wegovy under the SELECT FDA-labeled cardiovascular indication (approved March 2024). For patients with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea and obesity, Medicare Advantage plans may cover Zepbound under the SURMOUNT-OSA FDA-labeled OSA indication (approved December 2024). The CV and OSA pathways follow FDA labeling and are evaluated against the plan's medical-necessity criteria for each indication.
Lo que OptumRx realmente requiere

Medicare Advantage contrata la administración del beneficio de farmacia a OptumRx, que adjudica esta PA. Los criterios siguientes provienen de la política clínica del PBM publicada públicamente. Cumpla cada uno antes de enviar.

  • BMI greater than or equal to 30 with one comorbidity, OR BMI greater than or equal to 35 alone (post-2025 tightening)
  • Six months of documented dietary intervention with structured weight-management program participation
  • Step therapy through phentermine OR orlistat
  • 6-month reauthorization checkpoint requiring documented weight loss greater than or equal to 4 percent from baseline
  • Some employer carve-outs exclude obesity-indication GLP-1 entirely; check plan's specific formulary

La carta (copiar y editar)

Copie el cuerpo a continuación y péguelo en el portal de su clínico o procesador de textos. Reemplace cada marcador de posición entre [CORCHETES] con datos específicos del paciente antes de enviar. La carta es de su clínico al plan, firmada por su clínico.

Enviar esta página a mi médico
[Today's date]

Medicare Advantage (generic letter)
Prior Authorization Department
Submitted via: Plan-specific portal or CoverMyMeds

Re: Prior Authorization Request, Wegovy or Zepbound
Patient: [Patient full name]
Member ID: [Plan member ID]
Date of birth: [Patient DOB]
Group number: [Group number if applicable]
Prescriber: [Prescriber full name, NPI, DEA]
Prescriber contact: [Phone, fax, email]

To the Medicare Advantage (generic letter) Prior Authorization Reviewer,

I am the treating clinician for [Patient name]. I am writing to request prior authorization for Wegovy or Zepbound for treatment of Post-bariatric weight regain (ICD-10: Z98.84, E66.01).

Clinical justification

Bariatric surgery is durable for most patients, but 20 to 50 percent experience clinically significant weight regain over the long term. Post-bariatric GLP-1 use has growing evidence: the 2024 BARI-OPTIMISE trial (Wegovy in patients with post-bariatric weight regain) demonstrated 8.8 percent mean weight loss versus 0.5 percent for placebo over 16 weeks. Post-bariatric status (ICD-10 Z98.84) does not exclude a patient from anti-obesity pharmacotherapy under any major plan's PA criteria; the qualifying criterion is current BMI plus comorbidities, regardless of how the patient reached that BMI.

Patient-specific findings

  - [Insert current measurements: weight, height, BMI, blood pressure]
  - [Insert relevant lab values with dates: A1c, lipid panel, kidney function]
  - [Insert documentation of comorbidities with ICD-10]
  - [Insert documentation of prior treatment history, including any prior GLP-1 trials, anti-obesity medication trials or lifestyle intervention]

Criteria met per Medicare Advantage (generic letter) policy

This request meets the criteria set out in Plan-specific Medicare Advantage formulary and PA criteria:

  - Current BMI and the date measured
  - Type and date of prior bariatric procedure (Roux-en-Y, sleeve gastrectomy, gastric bypass, duodenal switch)
  - Documented post-surgical weight nadir and current weight to establish regain pattern
  - Comorbidity status (T2D, hypertension, dyslipidemia, OSA) using ICD-10 codes
  - Bariatric surgeon or obesity medicine specialist co-signing the letter when possible

Supporting evidence

The clinical case for Wegovy or Zepbound in this indication is supported by the following registration trials and outcomes data:

  - BARI-OPTIMISE (semaglutide 2.4 mg in post-bariatric weight regain), Mok et al. 2024
  - Pajecki et al. 2023 (liraglutide in post-bariatric regain)

Plan-specific note

Medicare does not cover GLP-1 for obesity indication under federal statute (the 2003 MMA exclusion). For patients with documented type 2 diabetes, Medicare Advantage plans cover Ozempic and Mounjaro under the T2D indication. For patients with established cardiovascular disease and obesity or overweight, Medicare Advantage plans may cover Wegovy under the SELECT FDA-labeled cardiovascular indication (approved March 2024). For patients with moderate-to-severe obstructive sleep apnea and obesity, Medicare Advantage plans may cover Zepbound under the SURMOUNT-OSA FDA-labeled OSA indication (approved December 2024). The CV and OSA pathways follow FDA labeling and are evaluated against the plan's medical-necessity criteria for each indication.

Requested action

I am requesting prior authorization for Wegovy or Zepbound at the [insert starting dose] starting dose, with planned titration per FDA labeling. I am also requesting that this authorization be granted for a continuous 12-month period subject to documented clinical response, per standard formulary practice.

If additional information is required, please contact me directly at [Prescriber phone] or [Prescriber email]. I am available to discuss this case with your medical director if helpful.

Thank you for your attention to this request.

Sincerely,

[Prescriber full signature]
[Prescriber printed name, credentials]
[Prescriber NPI]
[Practice name and address]

Attachments:
  - Current vital signs and BMI calculation
  - Most recent relevant labs
  - Documentation of comorbidities
  - Documentation of prior treatment trials
  - Sleep study report (if OSA indication)
  - Cardiac history documentation (if CV indication)

Plantillas educativas únicamente. No constituyen asesoramiento legal ni médico. Las cartas deben ser firmadas por el clínico tratante (MD, DO, NP, PA) con autoridad de prescripción. Cada plan cambia los criterios trimestralmente. Verifique con el boletín de política de PA más reciente de su plan antes de enviar. No invente hallazgos clínicos. No altere la firma de un clínico.

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