so i have all of this paperwork to fill out before the seminar on Jan 22nd. ive got the base of it finished, the last two pages are 30 questions for my insurance company representative.

the first question is do i have benefits for weight loss surgery for morbid obesity if medically necessary? then, i choose yes or no. if yes, i am suppose to complete all 30 questions...if no, i need to ask the rep to read the exclusion to me, then it says if i have an exclusion in my policy, would i self pay for surgery, and i cant. and if i say no, i dont even go to the seminar, it just ends there.

ive emailed a rep and all it said, point blank, is your plan does not cover obesity related surgeries. so is that it? its just over? I dont understand. i thought going to the seminar would help me through all of this. and i thought if it isnt included in my plan i can "challenge" it? am i wrong?

Point blank: if your policy specifically excludes weight loss surgery then you cannot appeal it. You will be self pay if you proceed.

Weight loss surgery is considered elective surgery and falls to the employer to determine whether or not they will cover it. It has nothing to do with the insurance plan itself, only the waivers and restrictions/exclusions that the employer chooses.

I work in the insurance industry and have worked at two separate insurance companies one with exclusions and one without.

Check to see if your company offers more than one plan option, they may not have excluded it in both. Or look into personal insurance.

Right--people get very confused with the authorization of the procedure vs. actually covered on the policy!

Point blank: if your policy specifically excludes weight loss surgery then you cannot appeal it. You will be self pay if you proceed.

Weight loss surgery is considered elective surgery and falls to the employer to determine whether or not they will cover it. It has nothing to do with the insurance plan itself, only the waivers and restrictions/exclusions that the employer chooses.

I work in the insurance industry and have worked at two separate insurance companies one with exclusions and one without.

Check to see if your company offers more than one plan option, they may not have excluded it in both. Or look into personal insurance.

i just wanted to say THANK YOU x5 to everyone who has responded. i have decided to have my dad add me to his since he just switched jobs, and in the mean time work on my eating habits and walking. if something goes wrong with him adding me, or his employer has an exception, i will finance the surgery and keep my hoopty car for a couple years. :-/

PEACEQUEEN-YES!!!!!!!! my seminar is for Dr. Weiss and Dr. Oldham!!! that just made me feel so happy

Yay!!! I'm so excited for you! I think you'll find the seminar very educational and informative. Hopefully they will be able to answer any questions you may have afterwards! Good luck and keep me posted!