Insurance Blues

I was wondering if anyone has Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO and had an exclusion for weight loss surgery. If there is any such person who does and still received approval, please let me know what worked for you.

I have BCBS PPO of Illinois and with the way they are treating me, you would think they had an exclusion, however they do not...it's frustrating, hang in there!

does your insurance have an exclusion. I thought blue cross and blue sheild was one of the easier insurance companies. Maybe I am wrong.

I was always told BCBS was easy too, but my plan has an exclusion. My mom has BCBS Federal and will be having the surgery and her plan does not have the exclusion.

Shannon - I have BCBS too and my policy also specifically excludes weight loss surgery. I'm an accountant and I've worked on the insurance end and also for doctors' offices. If your policy has an exclusion, you're in a tough spot. BCBS really can't do anything about an exclusion that your employer has specified. You'd have to contact your employer's HR department and ask them to consider changing the policy. I did that about some treatment one of my children needed (totally unrelated to weight loss) and I was successful because I showed that it was cost-effective. But it's a looooong battle, especially if you work for a big company. It's worth a try though! The other thing is to lobby your state/federal representative to require companies that provide insurance to cover weight loss surgery. This has worked on lots of things ... like maternity coverage. But that's a REALLY long battle. So ... I'm headed to Mexico. I did tons of research and decided to do self-pay. I looked into costs and decided spending twice as much for surgery in the US doesn't necessarily mean twice as good. I understand not everyone would feel comfortable doing this... but I have a date set, July 1, with Dr. Sanchez in Monterrey. I've found a good aftercare doctor in the Dallas area. Anyway ... I'll be thinking good thoughts for you. Good luck!! Laura