anyone in Chattanooga?

Hi,  I'm new to the boards and hoping to have wls. My current insurance has it written as an exclusion.  I'm considering changing jobs to try to get the surgery covered.  Is there anyone out there that works in Chattanooga and has had their wls covered by insurance?  Or does anyone work for Cigna or BCBS and know if they cover the surgery for their employees? 

Does anyone have a surgeon in town to recommend? 

Thanks in advance!

I don't live in Chattanooga but want to say Welcome to the board !!!

Each plan varies by employer.  All CIGNA is not the same...nor is all BCBS.  For example, I work for the state dept. and weight loss surgery is covered for me but you have to go through not only the pre-quallification required by CIGNA but also crieteria set by the state.  Other companies may choose to exclude weight loss surgery.  My brother in law works for the feds and he was really interested in lap band.  His insurance doesn't cover lap band but it does cover Roux-en-Y.  Go figure!  The best thing for you to do is to contact your insurance company and see exactly what it what.

Good luck and welcome to the Tennessee Forum!

Freddie

Since you are in Chattanooga, you may want to check and see if there are any State jobs, because the state's insurance POS Cigna and I believe the BCBS both cover WLS.  Just a thought!! Welcome, you have come to the right place, everyone here is wonderful and willing to help in any way we can!!

Welcome to our board!  I don't live in Chattanooga, but I do live in east Tennessee, about an 1 1/2 hrs from there. I tried to get Cariten to pay for my surgery and my husband's BCBS, and both had written exclusions.  Different companies can request different things be excluded from their policies to make them more economical.  I ended up financing it with CapitolOneHealthcare Finance.  I suggest when you go for job interviews, you ask to see their healthcare insurance policy, because all are not the same!!  Again, welcome! Marilyn 

Hi sweetie,I'm stopp'n by to say Hugs Barb

Dr. Jack Rutledge is at Spring Creek Rd in Chattanooga and his number is 892-4337. I have had several friends have the gastric bypass and they loved him.  He doesn't take my insurance or I would go to him.  Good luck!

Hi, I'm from Chattanooga and Dr. Rutledge is my surgeon and hero.....So I second that. Also the only people I know that had the surgery covered worked for the state or T-Mobile....again check before you hire on. OH>>>WELCOME! Beth B. in Chattanooga

Thanks everyone for the welcome and all the info.  Just to clarify I meant has anyone that works for cigna or bcbs have the surgery covered.  I realize that all employers policys are different as my current insurance is bcbs but has anything weight loss related written as an exclusion.  I thought that maybe employees of the insurance companies might have better policys.   I am going to look into the employers that were mentioned.  Thanks again for all the welcomes!