Who do you work for? (cross post)

OK... So I have yet another road block on my journey to RNY. I was nearly there. Two more months of weight ins after a year of jumping throug hoops and my surgery date was set for February.Then it happens. Two days before Christmas I get laid off from my company (contracted by one of the big three). I am in shock (okay not really). Most people in Michigan are on guard. Ooh so close! Now I am in desperate need of not only a job but one that will cover my surgery. The economy is horrible and any job for those of us here is better than none but I would be so sick to get so close and not be able to get this surgery. What company covered your surgery?  Thanks so much!

I am actually very blessed with a great paying job, who cares about its employees, well enough to have great insurance.  I work for Directv.  I am a supervisor at a customer care call center  I have aetna insurance and my surgery is costing roughly 10%.  Not to bad, considering others out there.

 

Keep your chin up, your time will come, trust me.  Once you get that date....its almost like time flys!  God Bless, and Ill keep you in my thoughts.

Lockheed Martin. The pay (engineer) is pretty good and the current health insurance is great. There are a few different choices (Aetna, Anthem BCBS, and Kaiser).  I have the Anthem BCBS and they approved my surgery in 2 days. I ended up cancelling the surgery but my copay was $250.  They are always looking for engineers.  But, we will be switching to one company wide insurance plan in either 2010 or 2011 and it will be self-insured by Lockheed, which means they might not be so liberal with their surgery approvals...so try and get hired soon :)

Have you thought about paying for cobra just until you have your surgery? I know it can kind of be expensive but it will be a lot cheaper then paying out of pocket. Also waiting for new insurance approvals and such. Best wishes to you. I live in crappy Michigan too. I work for Oakwood Hospital they cover bariatic surgery. You should check hospitals most of those cover the surgery.

WAIT!!!!! your surgery date is set.....then definitely pay for cobra they are offering it...my sis in law and a couple of patients of mine were laid off (from the car companies) and they were offered cobra.
So basically you should have INS for 30days after employment which will take you to the 24th of this month then pay for 1 month of cobra which then you will have 30 more days. Or talk to your surgeon to see if he can move the date up a little.

Hope all works out girlie it hard out here. Keep us updated.

Does Cobra give insurance to self employed people as well and does their individual insurance cover DS as well?

My only advice...TAKE COBRA!

Why risk having to pay out-of-pocket or having to start all over again under new requirements? I agree! - take the COBRA option!

Yes I vote COBRA also.

But, I have heard that Starbucks has great insurance that covers WLS, even for part time. Just something to think about.

GOODNIGHT!  C-O-B-R-A!!!  You will have to be offered COBRA coverage and the COBRA coverage has to be the same insurance you had as of the date you were laid off, which is the insurance that has approved you....you are good as gold.  You don't have to continue the COBRA coverage...hopefully the surgeon's office you are using is a type of center of excellence &, that said, all of your aftercare is included in the original price....even if you paid for only one month of COBRA (heck...two or three just in case of aftercare needs...) that is so much cheaper than paying for the surgery, etc. yourself.

 TAKE ONE LAST ADVANTAGE FROM YOUR JOB & GET SURGERY ON COBRA!!!

 Let us know what you decide!!  Take care!

Thanks so much to all of you who gave advice.  I did have family coverage but I called and found out I can select individual coverage for COBRA.  Thank goodness because the family COBRA would not have been possible for me.  I will be paying around $400.00 a month for just myself but I figure I will only need a couple of months for the surgery and after care and then I can stop and shop around for insurance until I get another job.  At least I can heal and not stress about getting back to work before I'm ready. I guess in some ways it did work out in the end.  Again thanks to everyone.