Question:
What will Voc Rehab cover? How do you ask?

Will VR only cover the actual surgery or the entire hospital stay along with pre and post ops? How do you ask for WLS help with tact?    — Tina H. (posted on June 15, 2003)

June 15, 2003
Tina, I used to be a counselor for TRC and I sponsored many surgeries while I was there. For the most part, they will pay for everything. The key to getting them to pay for it is to convince them that the obesity is affecting your employment. If you're employed... you WILL lose your job if you do not have this done. If you're not employed... you are unable to work because of the obesity. You must convince them that after the surgery you will go to work and work for at least 90 days. They have a quota to meet!
   — Jackie P.

June 15, 2003
It probably depends on where you live, as Voc Rehab is run by the states. Look up your state government in the phone book (blue pages) or go to your states website and search for voc rehab. State websites are all www.xxxxxx.gov where the xxxxx is your state's full name, not the 2 character abbreviation. Good luck. As the other poster said, voc rehab is set up to keep you in the job market, if you're about to have to leave because of some physical disability, or to get you back into a job, if you've had to leave because of a disability.
   — garw

June 15, 2003
I applied through Texas Rehab Commission. They paid for everything except $2800. It depends on how much money you make, whether you have to pay or not. They said that my portion would be $2800, which was certainly fine with me! And like the previous poster said, I had to convince them that it was affecting my job and that I needed it to stay in my current position.
   — raye