United Health care of Ohio. I am getting desperate.

Thanks Nancy, I wont give up, I just need to know where to go next. thank you for the info. It will help alot. I think both my employer and the insurance co are penny pinching greedy executives, and that is why they exclude this treatment. I work for a hospital so yes they do cover treatment for alcohol and drugs, and other problems. I was thinking of discussing the issue of the life long health issues of morbid obesity, and how much that costs versis the cost of this surgery. Has to be cheaper to pay for the surgery. again thanks for the information. kathy

I had UHC while I was a State of Ohio employee, the policy was changed before I could get WLS. In other words, UHC covered the surgery in 2002, but the State put an exclusion in for the 2003 coverage period. I couldn't even switch during open enrollment because the state put the rider in on BOTH their policies. The employer pays lower premiums if there are exclusions for major procedures like WLS. My decision probably wasn't the best, but I quit the state and got another job. I took a huge cut in pay, but my new employer had Anthem, with no rider for WLS so I had my surgery 4 months after I started. I figure in the long run it will be a better choice, and for right now, we are all just living cheap. But, with me losing weight I have a better shot at getting a good job, because believe me, the predjudice against obese women doesn't give you the greatest chances when job hunting! Good luck.

Hello: I am an insurance agent so I have fought this many times for people with the same outcome. Any company who has under 50 employees UHC will not pay for the surgery or anything related to it. It is the way the contract is written and they will not budge. It is also written as an exclusion for many larger groups but those can possibly be changed by the employer but NO WAY NO HOW for a company with less than 50 employees. I'm sorry!

Lisa, Thanks for the info, I work for a major employer in the dayton area. Premeir Health partners, this includes Good Samaritan Hospital, Miami Valley Hospital, Maria Joseph living care center, Middletown Reginal Hospital and many out patient faucilities. So there are alot more than 50 employees. Miami Valley Hospital and Middletown Hospital both have WLS programs and Good Samaritan Hospital is trying to start one. So I don't understand why they would exclude this coverage. other than the cost saving. Thanks for your information it will help me in this battle. kathy