5 years post-op now need private insurance

I'm hoping someone here can offer some advice.  I am five years post-op from my lap rny gastric bypass sugery and never had any complications. Last March I was laid off and my family has been using COBRA coverage, which we can continue through August.  My husband is a student without work insurance, and I am now a stay at home mom and do not intend to return to work.  We need to get approved for private insurance until my husband completes his PhD and gets a job with insurance (about 18 months).  We had applied with BCBS of IL and got the letter today we were denied coverage due to my gastric bypass surgery in April 2002, 5 years ago. Has anyone here had to get private insurance post-surgery, and if so, what company approved a policy for you?

You ought to check and see if your husband can get the student insurance from the college where he goes to school.  Then he can put you on his insurance.

This is a tough one, Melissa.  My son (also a WLS post-op) has been without medical benefits for a couple of years now.  He and his wife both work, but are low-income and cannot afford to pay for insurance coverage.  They are eligible for "Adult Basic" which in our state is a very low-cost program of medical insurance coverage.  The kicker is that our state has currently under-funded the program and they are on a waiting list which could be 18 months or more.

I would suggest trying several different companies.  Also, could they possibly include a rider for your particular policy that would allow you basic coverage for treatments that didn't relate to your surgery?  I have heard of this being done in other cases.

I hope that you will find something and I wish you the best.  I could really go on a long rant here about this sad state of affairs in our country.  We are the richest country in the world, yet 47 MILLION people who live here and pay taxes are without medical insurance coverage.  This country should be ashamed of this, but just try to get someone in the government to actually do anything about it!  Good luck to you.

Carlita

 

I lost my job and my family's health insurance last August.  The COBRA was 1300 a month and that was way too high for us to pay.  My husband got insurance for us through his job at almost 300 a month plus some nasty co-pays.  Best we could do.  Anyway, when we got the policy it had a disclaimer on it about not paying for weight loss surgery or any complications arrising from it.   I even have to pay for my regular lab work!  The real kicker is that my new insurance is with the same company that paid for my RNY--just a different policy!  I am having serious complications right now with my blood work and sugar and have to be really dilligent about telling doctors not to code things refferring to weight loss surgery.  Good luck to you.  I wish I had better news. Amy

Hi Melissa!  I haven't heard anything encouraging yet about private insurance, but something sticks in my mind about not being able to be covered within the first 5 years.  Maybe, as another poster noted, you can get some kind of "student" insurance through your husbands educational institution?

Please keep us posted, as I'm sure there are more people in this predicament.  And good luck to you!!

Karyn

(P.S. Fred Tiesenga is *scheduled* to take out my gallbladder this Friday!)

Thanks for the responses.  We'll just have to try several other companies I guess.  Maybe working directly with an agent would be a good idea rather than just sending in applications.  The student insurance is an option for us as a last resort for major medical, but we really want maternity coverage.  I'm 41 so we can't really wait another 2 years to try for our second child, and the student coverage will not cover maternity.

Hi Melissa. I think I have some information for you. My husband also lost group coverage and we had to buy private insurance. I had my surgery in Naperville in 2004. I had to get insurance through the state. It is a high risk pool. It is the ICHIP BCBS of Illinois. The premiums were a bit high, but not nearly as bad as being with out insurance can be. The main thing you have to worry about it not to have a discontinuation of coverage. I believe it is 63 days. If you are uninsured you may not be able to get coverage at all. I would highly suggest you check into this. I am now 54 and my priemium was just under 500.00 per month. I hope this helps. Good luck to you. Deb ski