Question:
I looking for those of you had to purchase insurance to get WLS...

Please help me get a friend on the road to good health! My friend has no health insurance and needs a WLS friendly policy. She lives in Wisconsin, is self employed and wants to get the ball rolling! She is not online yet... I will be printing off your great ideas for her. Thanks!    — Peggy N. (posted on March 12, 2002)

March 12, 2002
Hi! I have no brilliant answer but I, too am searching for insurance to purchase. The only trick I have found is looking on the "insurer's" portion of this site. After you pick your state it lists all the different insurances that actually approved the surgery. I took all the ones in my state and am now trying to find one I can afford! Good luck!
   — Kelly R.

March 12, 2002
United Health Care is, in my opinion, THE BEST in approving WLS. They are very easy to deal with and almost always approve it unless there is an exclusion in the policy.
   — Shanna P.

March 12, 2002
My husband is also self employed. I started by calling the surgeon I wanted to use to see what insurance he participated with. Then I called that company to get prices. Then I called the doctor's office again to get the surgical code and diagnosis codes and called the insurance back BEFORE I purchased it, gave them the codes in order to see if they covered this procedure. My insurance is BCBS. BTC (Bariatric Treatment centers) told me which plan was the best and everything. I have to wait a six month pre-existing condition period because it's an individual policy instead of a group policy through a company. With a business, you can usually purchase a group policy, but it's much more expensive.($596. verses $215. per month) Sorry for writing so much. I just want to be helpful because I had the same issue. Hope everything works out.
   — lerli1

March 13, 2002
According to a post a few days ago, UHC will no longer cover WLS--I REALLY hope that I am wrong about this! By the way, AETNA covers the RNY only, you may want to check them out!
   — jenn2002

April 5, 2002
I do not personally have this insurance, but for those who are looking for insurance and are self-employed check out Western Health Advantage. My mom is s-e and they can put you in a group of 1, to get the group plan rate. I don't know about WLS policies with them, but they're worth a look at least. Hope this helps
   — Sassy G.