Question:

I have read on the msg board patients after having wls is denied health ins.....Is this true? Im really upset what if my ins changes in Jan? My husband is starting a gov job, what if im denied because of the surgery? Has anyone here had surgery and changed ins with no denial? I know life ins will deny you, because I cant get it I was denied due to the wls. This is scarey and discriminating (sp) What can we do about this?    — Schatzie1 (posted on September 1, 2003)

September 1, 2003
The uninsurability issue is only a problem if you are looking for private, individual insurance. It does not affect your ability to be covered by group insurance (the kind you have through an employer). There are many medical diagnoses that result in uninsurability, not just WLS. You will not have a problem becoming covered by your husband's employer plan.
   — Vespa R.

September 1, 2003
Like the first poster said you should be covered under your husbands group plan no problem. The only life insurance I have is through work as I would never have been able to get it before surgery. It's sad that they won't insure us after surgery when we are so healthy and very likely to live a long time. I suspect some of these discriminations will go away over the years as more is learned about the long term effects or lack there of related to WLS. I figure no matter what post-op issues show up long term it's no worse than the issues created by my weight. I'll just have to take it as it comes.
   — zoedogcbr

September 1, 2003
As long as your or your husband's coverage is continuous, no problem. Just make sure it never lapses. If he were to lose his job, you could continue with COBRA, paying the premiums yourself, for 17(?) months until he or you find another one.
   — Chris T.

September 1, 2003
Individual insurance policies are a bear to get if there is *anything* about you that is different, WLS or not, regardless whether it represents a real health risk or not. I remember freaking out when I moved from a government job to a small firm in my 20s, because suddenly, the firm had a heckuva time getting anyone to even write a *life* insurance policy on me, let alone health, due to the fact I had been diagnosed with a medical condition which my docs told me posed no serious risk to my health (indeed, it took 18 years for that condition to cause me a day of trouble -- but in the meantime, it was an expensive proposition getting me insured). Needless to say, every job move I made after that was to large employers with group policies, where I never had a problem getting insurance again. I was lucky to even have that choice, though. The lesson I took away from that was that insurance companies are so risk-averse there is, quite literally, NO LOGIC to why they'll deny coverage to people seeking individual coverage. WLS poses no particular notable risk to your health, compared to any other condition they'll arbitrarily use to refuse to sell you an individual policy (or, instead, they'll offer to sell you one with pre-existing conditions and exclusions so big you could drive a truck through them). The vagarancies and limitations of insurance companies are only news to folks who've never tried to buy an individual policy before with *anything whatsoever* interesting (not necessarily life-threatening) in their health background.<P>If you can, you gotta get into a group coverage situation for decent health care coverage at affordable prices. With your husband going into a government job, chances are he'll have a chance to participate in a group insurance plan, where the risk calculus is usually totally different. It's scandalous and unfair that obtaining decent health insurance is so often a function of whether you can get into such a group, but that's how it is. Any difficulty in obtaining an individual health insurance policy following WLS does NOT mean WLS is somehow a life-shortening or health-threatening procedure. It just means the health care insurance system is ... let's just say, severely messed up, in general, and leaves too many people (WLS patients or not) uncovered for no good reason.
   — Suzy C.