Wait for Insurance or Self-Pay?

I currently do not have insurance and was seriously considering financing lap-band surgery. After reading information on this website it looks like "most" people are able to get their insuranceto pay for WSL after jumping through some hoops. I am HOPING to land a great new job for King County within the next few weeks and then I will have awesome insurance. Does anyone have experience with getting insurance to pay for WSL in Washington? What types of barriers do the insurance companies put up? Is it worth waiting at least 2 months to try and get insurance to pay or should I just go for it now and self-pay? THANKS!

Hi, nice to hear from you. I remember reading a post from the wife of a King County worker and it said that KC does not pay for Bariatric surgery. Please check it out before you decide to wait and then find out that it isn't covered. Maybe someone else can respond who works for KC. Mari

I would get busy researching the type of insurance the King County job would be providing you with. Call the insurance company directly and ask them if WLS is something they cover. Even if covered, they may have a lot of stipulations attached to the approval. I'd want as much advance notice of what I was in store for asap, and a phone call to the insurance company can provide you with that. You don't even have to give them your name, just explain your situation and ask what kind of coverage they offer. Once you get some of those answers you'll better know which direction to proceed in. Personally, I would not have been able to wait two months on something that I could find out the answers for by just making a few phone calls. If it looks as though you will need to self-pay (either because you don't get the job or the insurance won't cover it) it would be a very good idea to start getting your self-finance plan in order. I don't know how anxious you are to have the surgery but I know that just getting my finances in order and completing the enormous to-do list I received from my surgeon took me several weeks. Good luck on your journey and please keep us posted. -Donna 296/248/150