Buy insurance to get WLS or Self pay??

 I have been frustrated with this for years. I do not have insurance and my husbands insurance is beyond awful and does not cover WLS or any weight issue. They will not add a rider either.

The Surgeon who is here who I adore will only accept people with insurance.

I know there are a lot of places who will accept self pay, but then what do people do for after care? Besides one other surgeon who has only done a little over 100 surgearies there is no one else close by. 

Looking for ideas and suggestions! 

 
Well, you have several options here but buying a private policy to get ins isn't one of them.  Private policies do not cover WLS because people would get it long enough to get surgery and then drop the plan.  No ins co could afford that.

That leaves self pay.

First you have to decide on a surgery type.  If you are self pay i'd strongly suggest a sleeve because it is the safest surgery type available long term and has better stats than bypass but the best part is there is no aftercare, there is no maintenance.  With bands they don't work well and aftercare can be quite expensive, weight loss is slow, regain is high, etc.

Bypass requires very specific labs that may be hard to convince your ins to pay for.  If they don't cover WLS they won't cover follow ups for labs related to WLS.  Those labs are thousands of dollars each time.

Same with DS.

I have self paid x2.  First a band then a revision to a sleeve.  I went to MX.  You might be shocked to see the quality of care and the number of us that go there.  If you do your research you can find the best of the best for half the price of the US and the care is actually better because they keep you in the hospital longer.

Find 50 people that went to MX and ask them about their experiences.  You might be shocked.

Research is free, surgery in the US is double the cost of MX.  A sleeve by the sleeve expert in the US is $18K.  In MX it is $8750.

I am unsure of what to do. I have tried to get insurance before but because of my issues I have been denied. 

The last few surgeons I have spoken with would like me to get insurance before surgery as a back up. I am not sure what to do since I have been denied in the past. 

It's a double edge sword.  You can't get a private plan when you are obese and then you won't be able to get a private plan after you have WLS for about 5 years.  You are out of luck on that one.

I'm still going to suggest Mexico.  Research is free, surgery in the US is double the cost.  With proper research it's safe.  Shopping by price gets you less than skilled surgeons.

If I sign up for my husbands insurance (excludes all things having to due with weight) sign up is next month but it doesnt go into effect to the first of the year. What if I had WLS before the first of the year but after I signed up for his insurance?