employer NOT insurance co opted out to cover bariatric surgery

 Has this happened to anyone? And were you able to do anything about it? 

My husbands insurance has this same thing. It is a health plan funded by the company. The benefits are great but this is just  one of those things it does not cover. I have sent a email to the CEO about two weeks ago with no response encouraging them to pick this up as a covered benefit to aid in approving attendance within the company and lowering health related cost. They do not start their new benefits until the summer so I figured it was worth a try. I will have to wait and see what happens. If they do not cover it I will have to pick up my own plan through my job which I will end up paying alot, but I figure my life is worth it.

It's totally worth a try. Who knows, maybe you could open up opportunities for lots of people. It is my husband's insurance that I am speaking of as well. I think I just have to prove that it is medically necessary. You may want to go ahead and start the 6 month doctor supervised diet and or 6 months of weigh****chers if you haven't already. That way you will be totally prepared for when your insurance is ready. Good luck to you. 

I have already seen the nutritionist twice and my doc said to wait until Sept to do the psych eval which is fine.I just pray that they dont change my benefits. Good Luck!!

I have insurance through my employer that I have paid premiums on for 10 years and they have done the same thing. Small company with 45 employees (world-wide) and I just happen to be the only one that is morbidly obese and in need of WLS.
They have negotiated the "exclusion of coverage for WLS, weight management programs and doctor supervised diets, even if medically necessary, for morbid obesity, for any reason," from our insurance coverage "to keep the premiums as low as possible for everyone." I have found out that this "exclusion language" is pretty much rock-solid and I'm unable to get surgery coverage, in any way, because of it. I've spoken to several patient advocates, their consensis is the same.

I have gone to the company executives and asked for them to change our insurance coverage so I have a chance to get healthy & cost less in medical expenses for both them and I, but the response was a resounding "No, not gonna happen." So I even went so far as to ask the president of the company if he would consider authorizing financial assistance from the company to help me pay for the surgery, since they've prevented coverage. That question got the same response.

It's difficult, depressing and debilitating, to say the least, when you have to deal with people whom have the audacity to think they have the right to make life-altering decisions for you, pertaining to your health, even though they know nothing about your life and the health conditions that you struggle with daily. I feel greatly discriminated against because of this, but also because almost everyone I work with thinks that WLS is a cop-out, a lazy person's answer to loosing weight. This attitude is one of the reasons why we obese people have so many problems with prevalent discrimination in society.

I found a petition on one of the ObesityHelp blogs that is asking the government to force insurance companies to include WLS surgery in their coverage for morbid obesity. It's short, but to the point. It says that we should not be denied treatment of any kind for our obesity disease when the law provides for drug and alcohol addicts the same protection of coverage as we are asking for.

I would encourage you to seek and find that petition and sign it. And I encourage you to petition in any and all other ways possible to get the coverage you need. But please don't let the negative responses discourage your efforts. I am not letting them stop me and I hope we both will find a way to achieve the necessary financing we need without having to resort to putting ourselves in harms ways to do it.

Good luck! = ; }

I admire your optimism!  I am where you are now. I have been trying to have the sugery for 7 yrs and no luck with insurance coverage. I am going to file a claim on my own again and see what happens.. ive never appealed the deniel so I will go from there.
Dont let those ppl get you down! That is a skinny person views on WLS... odviously they have NEVER had a weight problem! 
My insurance exclusion simply reads ...Surgical and non-sugical treatment of obesity.. nothing more. So I want to see if there is a loop hole in the policy.. I have a long fight on my hands. I have went as far as calling MDH employer and asking for a Rider, but they tell me they do not offer them? Which is a bunch of bull! They do not want to pay for it. all companys can chose what they want to cover and not cover.. its all cost. 
I wish you luck in your journey!! Take Care :))