Question:
Does anyone know of any insurance providers that will cover WLS surgery
I am looking for an insurance plan that will cover treatment for obesity Thanks for any suggestions — LindaLc09 (posted on March 26, 2009)
March 26, 2009
Anthem Blue Cross paid for my WLS. They paid more than 80%. I live in No CA
and have their premier ppo plan that costs a fortune per month anyway.
There was no hassle but I did have to go to Good Samaritan in San Jose.
— ranell1
March 26, 2009
Many insurance plans cover wls and many do not. The hospital that I work in
has Anthem BC for their employees but their contract with Anthem excludes
all weight loss surgery and so far a couple of the employees trying to go
through appeals have been turned down. I was covered under my school
teacher wife's Humana and they did cover wls. With the normal documentation
of weight loss attempts, psych eval, medical records of co-morbidities etc
they covered with no problems at all. My out of pocket was just under $5000
for everything but that's much better than $25,000. You just have to check
with your insurer and employer. When we questioned Anthem BC about a
hospital employee getting the surgery the answer was; "yes, Anthem
covers wls but your policy does not" Hope this helps. Kevin
— hapkidodoc
March 26, 2009
Thanks so much for your answers I have been on a quest to try and find a
plan that would cover me at my age and with my pre-existing conditions and
I'm running into a brick wall. I am on Social Security but do not qualify
for medicaid and I am not eligible for Medicare for 25 months. I was hoping
I would be able to find something that would work, anyway thanks for the
suggestions Thank all of you that take the time to post, it is a
tremendous help to have this resource .
— LindaLc09
March 26, 2009
Just some advice from a former BCBS Benefits Analyst....Keep in mind that
employer sponsored policies are completely different than individual
policies which can be purchased on their own without going through an
employer. You will more than likely have a pre-existing condition clause on
the policy which could cause a problem with having any type of treatment
for obesity covered including WLS for a certain amount of time after the
policy goes into effect. You want to make sure you ask about this before
you purchase the policy.
— [Deactivated Member]
March 26, 2009
I have BC BS and was approved. We filed the paperwork on the 2nd of Jan
and received approval on the 5th. K
— kfgates
March 26, 2009
I live in NY I have Health Net insurance I only had to pay $200.00 for the
hospital copay Good luck
— -angie
March 26, 2009
I had BCBS and they covered my WLS. The trick is to have your primary
physcian send a letter that the surgery is medically necessary and they
take that into consideration. Depends on what type of surgery you are
going for.
— Karenapolitano
March 27, 2009
a friend of mine has a insurance policy that states right in it that they
absolutely will not pay for any weight loss surgery of any kind. So it is
best to ask a lot of questions. I was lucky as I had medicare plus Blue
which paid for everything.
— Linda G.
March 27, 2009
Southern Health, 3 mos pre op and $75 copay.
— clg6n
March 27, 2009
I have BCBS of IL and they covered it 100% after deductible. They make you
jump through alot of hoops but its well worth it.
— jenbn
March 28, 2009
I have United Health Care through my job and they paid for my WLS.
— scario13
April 4, 2009
Kaiser covers WLS.
— Janell C.
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