Can't stop crying...Insurance denied me 6 days before surgery...help

I am scheduled for lap band surgery thurs 4/7. I was denied today by BCBS of Ct (my policy has NO exclusion). My surgeon's office will appeal on monday. I am so upset... I can't stop crying....

Hang in there Kelly, the doctor's office will try to get it through for you with appeal. Stay positive it'll all work out for you I hope. Patty

Kelly, Hi, I am from Southington too. I had Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield and I did end up getting approved. Did they say why they denied? Who is your doctor?

Keep the faith! I have always been told that never take no as an answer. Maybe they wanna see how bad you want it...so show em!! fight! Ill pray for u!

Hi Kelly, I was just denied by United Health care just a few days ago. I feel your anger and hurt. As far as my insurance the whole time I was going through the pre-surgery testing...I would check in with United to make sure there was no exclusions or clauses. All the time there was a "no to my answer". I was 100% covered due to my BMI. I just received the denial letter, and it states that my company didn't pick up a "ryder"...what ever the heck that means. So I'm in the same boat as you with fighting for the coverage. I still am going ahead with the surgery, however I'm disgusted with the Insurance Company & I agree with the other board members...that the insurance just wants us to go away quitely so they DON'T have to pay the coverage. Keep fighting and hanging in there Kelly..I'll be saying a prayer for you. PS I cried also....this is a life changing surgery and I wish the insurance companies would just look at the big picture of the long term health benefits and not just the bottom line dollar. Mickey

I know this sounds old hat, but was wondering if your denial was because you chose lapband surgery vs RNY. I remember some insurance companies has only approved one form of WLS, not both. Just a thought. Peter

Yes, they'll pay for RNY.

Most will pay for one or the other, not both. Why not consider the RNY? Peter

Peter, I am terrified of RNY. But I guess I'll have to consider it if no choice. What's your experience?

Kelly, I made a concious decision to have an open RNY insead of laproscopic RNY or lap band. I did a lot of research before my surgery. First, my anecdotal evidence showed far fewer complications with open RNY surgery. The reason seems to be that it's hard to work in there with only a camera and a few instruments, and it's difficult to get an obstructed view. I also found that open RNY patients had a much better post-operative success than laproscopic RNY or lap band patients when it comes losing the desired weight and keeping it off, although the recovery time for laproscopic RNY was significantly less than open RNY. Lap band patients tend to suffer from other complications associated directly with the band. First, getting it adjusted correctly seems to be difficult. Second, it does have to be surgically removed once the desired weight has been lost. And third, there seem to be quite a few cases where the band slipped upwards, requiring surgery to reposition or remove it. By reading a lot of information for former lap band patients, I found that many folks chose the lap band method because it is reversible, and RNY is not. I also found that many lab band patients had put a lot of weight back on after having the band removed. I figured that I'd rather go through surgery only once and have my best chance of success. I didn't want to take a chance on gaining back some or all the weight I had lost. I guess we each have our reasons, certainly it's a personal decision that each of us has to make. What's good for one person is not necessarily good for another. I urge you to spend some time online doing some reading so you can make an informed decision. Good luck! --Steve