Kroger Employees w/lapband or Anthem BCBS

I just got banded and I am wondering what kind of coverage there is on the fills. Is it a copay or 80/20 coverage...? Hope someone can help me. Thanks! Dayna

OMG. Im sorry I cant answer this question, but! You work for kroger and they covered your surgery? I work at kroger part-time and I had no Idea! Thats awesome! COuld you give me more info?

My husband works for a Kroger owned company. Basically his paycheck is signed by Kroger.  This year Kroger included WLS in its benefits. So Anthem is the ins. carrier (at least in TN I am not sure if all states have Anthem, but I think so) Anthem covers 80% at a Center of Excellence.  The out of pocket maximum is $3000, plus $300 deductible per person$700 per family.  So if you had it done Jan 1st of any year you would hand over $3300.00 and that would cover the costs of the surgery, and cover any co insurance for the rest of the year. Now, the requirements are very easy. 1.  40 BMI or 35+ w/co morbidities   2. Documented weight loss attempts. This does not have to be 6 months, just notes in any doctors file in the last 5 years stating that you are dieting, taking phentermine, etc.  No weight loss is required.   3. Psych exam- this is just a normal visit with a psychologist so that they can be sure you don't have any out of porportion ideas, or not a good candidate mentally.  4. Nutritionist visit (can be coordinated by surgeon usually). 5. Surgeon consult. If I had not been procrastinating, I could have done this is approx. 2 months time total. Anthem is very efficient in this area. Thay have their own dedicated unit for bariatrics.

I hope this helps!

Dayna

 

Kroger is a National Account with Anthem BCBS  I know as I was an employee at Anthem for 25 yrs and now medically retired.   Kroger has a few options on what type contracts you can choose through Anthem  the PPO, or the HSA .   So first you would need to know what type contract you have whether its PPO or HSA.   You should have a benefit booklet that tells you what type contract or look at your card it should also tell you.   

 

 

Hope this helps

My husband works as a co-manager for Kroger in Arkansas, but has insurance for the whole family (him, me & the kids).   We had the high deductible health savings account option with Anthem National BCBS this year.  I had to pay for my sleep study in 02/07 which took up most of my $3000 deductibe.  So when I had gastric bypass 08/20/07, I only had to pay $72 for the whole thing.  (This included a $50 extra-charge for a private room.)