Looking to find Insurance Companies that cover Bariatric Surgery
I am in the process of moving to Chattanooga from Atlanta. I still have a few months to go before I'm completely moved and I am looking for an insurer that either doesn't have exclusions to Bariatric Surgery, or is likely to approve Bariatric Surgery. I've done a lot of searching and still can't find any information on Insurance Companies I should be looking at. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Even if you have info on an Insurance company in Chattanooga, Southern or Central Tennessee, I would be most grateful! I posted this in the TN forum too in the hopes that I would find as much info as possible.Thanks in advance for your help,
Darra
1st you need to be aware ALL insurance companies will cover wls. It is your employer that decides whether your individual policy will cover the wls or not... So, if you have Blue Cross insurance at your job now and it covers wls ,and you move to TN and you get Blue Cross insurance with a new company, it may not cover the wls. It is not possible to reccomend an insurance company, since the job will decide whether the insurance will cover wls. If someone tells you otherwise, they are misinforming you.
Your employer decides which services will be included or excluded from your policy ( wls, dental, vision, breast lifts, fertility treatments, chiropractor, orthodintics, etc) . So, if you are denied wls because of an exclusion don't hate the insurance company, hate your job.
2nd, Even if your plan covers wls, your employer will sometimes decide which types of wls it will cover. For instance, many plans will not cover the Duodenal Switch or Sleeve Gastrectomy because they consider them "experimental".
Confusing huh?
3rd, If you are buying an individual policy not through an employer, it likely will exclude wls. It would be too expensive to pay the premium for wls coverage. Even if there were such a policy that covers wls, they would probably fight you and consider it a pre-existing condition... I have never heard of anyone having an individual policy that covers wls??? If I am wrong, educate me. If someone sells you an individual policy and tells you it will cover wls, I would definitely read all the fine print in my policy before giving them my money.
Now, are you employed now? If so, does your current insurance cover wls? If yes, and you have already started pre-op testing, you can request continuance of coverage for treatment in progress. You will need to continue to pay the COBRA premium rates to keep your plan active, but it would be more affordable than going self pay.
If that is not an option, you will need to check with your new employer to see if they exclude wls in their incurance package. So, nobody is going to a job interview asking if they cover wls right? At least I hope not!
"So Darra, why do you think you would be a good fit for this company?"
"Uhm I need wls; Does your insurance plan cover it? "
Probably not good idea.
If you already have a job lined up, post to the TN board whether anybody else works there. Otherwise when you get a job offer, ask to see the insurance package before you accept. Is this serious enough for you to target only companies that will cover wls?
If you have insurance that covers wls now, can you get the surgery before you move? That would be ideal. Even if you move, you may not get enough sick leave for a while to even get off work to have wls??
You have a lot to consider. Good luck.
Your employer decides which services will be included or excluded from your policy ( wls, dental, vision, breast lifts, fertility treatments, chiropractor, orthodintics, etc) . So, if you are denied wls because of an exclusion don't hate the insurance company, hate your job.
2nd, Even if your plan covers wls, your employer will sometimes decide which types of wls it will cover. For instance, many plans will not cover the Duodenal Switch or Sleeve Gastrectomy because they consider them "experimental".
Confusing huh?
3rd, If you are buying an individual policy not through an employer, it likely will exclude wls. It would be too expensive to pay the premium for wls coverage. Even if there were such a policy that covers wls, they would probably fight you and consider it a pre-existing condition... I have never heard of anyone having an individual policy that covers wls??? If I am wrong, educate me. If someone sells you an individual policy and tells you it will cover wls, I would definitely read all the fine print in my policy before giving them my money.
Now, are you employed now? If so, does your current insurance cover wls? If yes, and you have already started pre-op testing, you can request continuance of coverage for treatment in progress. You will need to continue to pay the COBRA premium rates to keep your plan active, but it would be more affordable than going self pay.
If that is not an option, you will need to check with your new employer to see if they exclude wls in their incurance package. So, nobody is going to a job interview asking if they cover wls right? At least I hope not!
"So Darra, why do you think you would be a good fit for this company?"
"Uhm I need wls; Does your insurance plan cover it? "
Probably not good idea.
If you already have a job lined up, post to the TN board whether anybody else works there. Otherwise when you get a job offer, ask to see the insurance package before you accept. Is this serious enough for you to target only companies that will cover wls?
If you have insurance that covers wls now, can you get the surgery before you move? That would be ideal. Even if you move, you may not get enough sick leave for a while to even get off work to have wls??
You have a lot to consider. Good luck.
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