and wait out the pre-existing requirement time. So I waited about a year and a half before I had my surgery. I also elected to not get an MRI because I was pretty sure it was torn and I didn't want to pay for the MRI. I suggested this to the doc and he said that was fine with him and that he'd start with a scope and then fix the ACL if he needed too. Not sure if docs require an MRI now or not. This was about 15 years ago.