'Low' BMI; insurance will not cover the sleeve, should I self pay??
Hi there! I am having surgery Sept. 3rd. I've always had an exclusion so insurance wouldn't pay no matter what. Your post sounds like something I could have posted. I am just at a 35 bmi. I have decided on self paying and I am just going to do this. It seems my life is chronic diet and exercise and yet the scale just keeps going up year after year. As I am getting older I am finding it much harder to sustain that level of energy to keep the weight off. Anyways I am choosing to stay in the US, I shopped around and found that there are states that are cheaper for surgery and states that are more expensive. The state I live in is one of the more expensive states so I am choosing to go out of state. Alot of people go out of the country, and I don't have a problem with them doing so, I personally couldn't bring myself to do that. Although desperate times comes for desperate measures, I couldn't say that I wouldn't have chosen that route ever. I was worried about the pre-op diet and no qualifying if I lost too much. The Doctors staff told me that as long as I am above 30 bmi they would still do the surgery. Whew - I know I won't lose that much on a pre-op diet. But sadly I did choose to gain a few more by stopping exercising the month before surgery. Good Luck to you. I can only hope it is all worth it.
http://www.bariatric-surgery-source.com/cost-bariatric-surgery.html
I saw this before I considered surgery, I'm not sure this was the website I saw it on. Seems like it was from CNN or something. But anyways I found out it was cheaper in Nevada, Texas, and some other state (that didn't matter to me). I just remember the third state was east of Texas. I was considering states that were the cheapest to get to from Arizona. I chose Nevada as it is just a 5.5 hour drive/and a cheap flight from here.
I was in your same boat. My BMI was 39.5 at the highest point, with comorbidities of sleep apnea, high BP, high cholesterol. My PCP at Kaiser said that I met the requirements, but I do not "look fat enough" to be considered for surgery. After years of hearing this, I decided to self pay, and got set up with a Dr. in Las Vegas for $12,000. When I went to see the PCP for surgical clearance, she said that she would put me into their system if I wanted now that she knows I am willing to self pay. I said no thank you, that I had waited long enough, and I would be having the surgery on the 19th of September.
$12,000 is a lot, but I am worth it. I am looking very forward to my new healty life.
It just occured to me that I didn't answer your question. Yes, I think you should self pay if you think you need to, and you are ready to change your lifestyle for good.
