Help

HI
I have a question, I am a RN and actually have preformed the RYN in the OR as a nurse, I want and need the RYN done but my current insurance list WTS other then the band as a exclusion.  Heres the problem, I am looking into buying a individual insurance policy to cover this, I know read thepolicy fine print prior to buying, anyone out there that brought insurance to cover this??? Does BCBS of NC offer anything, I perfer them. Any other suggestions? PLease Help

I cannot answer your specific question, but in general BCBS of NC does cover wls.

I had my surgery while I was employed with the state and we had BCBS of NC as our insurance.

They do have some conditions..something like BMI must be at least 35 and you have at least 2 comorbidities or your BMI must be greater than 40

My BMI was 65 and I had no comorbidities. I was approved within hours.  

Be sure to read the fine print to get the details as the conditions I listed may be off or could have changed since I had surgery. Ask plenty of questions to make sure the coverage is clear.

Good luck.

Thanks any others.

Hi Hope,

I'd try cross-posting this to the Main, RNY and Insurance forums to see if you can get some responses from people that have had the experiences you are looking for... Casting a wider net just might help.

Good luck,

I lost my job in 2005 and could not afford cobra so i got the Blue Cross Blue Shields Policy of NC. There is a weight loss surgery exclusion for the private policy and it will not pay for the weight loss surgery.

Are you saying that your current insurance will pay for lap band and nothing else?? That is a little strange. There are a lot of policies out there that will pay for the RNY and nothing else.

Tamara

Yes only lap band.

When I was thinking about WLS several years ago, my husband had an insurance policy through his employer that would not cover it so I also thought about an individual policy but found that they would not cover it either.  A quote from online:  "According to many practitioners, few private insurance indemnity plans or managed care organizations appear to cover the costs of obesity treatment regardless of whether the service is a medically supervised program of weight reduction or maintenance, nutrition counseling, surgery or a pharmaceutical product."  I never found a policy that would help cover it and quit looking.  It wasn't until this past July that my husband's employer switched to BCBSNC and I was ironically referred for WLS by my PCP out of the blue.  My one other suggestion is that you look into self-pay and how you can go about that in an affordable way.  A number of people go out of country for a fraction of the cost, travel expenses included.  Definitely post on the main board so you can get more input from more people regarding insurance and self-pay.  Good luck!!! 

Thanks