Its vent time, Well I finally found the group of dr's. that I want to get to do my lapband surgery, they are in Covington, LA, the name of the center is Surgical Specialists of Lousiana, Southern Bariatric Associates. I will be paying cash for the surgery 12,900.00 and my insurance will significantly benefit from this transaction that I will be paying for. Just think about the money they will save in the long run, I won't be a diabetic anymore, my chances to get cancer are WAY lower, heart attack and stroke will be superduper lower. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind paying for the surgery as this will help me live a longer, better life and will make life better in general but it just makes me really angry that more insurance companies are not paying for WLS and they are the one's who will benefit financially the most...........it just pisses me off to no end......sorry for the rant but dad gum it, I'm sick and tired of paying over 600.00 buckaroos a month for something that I rarely ever use.........I know, I know if I was ever in a bad wreck or got hurt etc etc but still, if I owned an insurance company, I would make and investment for savings in the future. Just look at the money they will most likely save by paying for WLS...........Ill hush now, sorry about that...................

Believe me, I feel your frustration. I too went to Surgical Specialists of Lousiana, Southern Bariatric Associates and Dr. Lavin was my surgeon. I don't regret paying the money out of my pocket for the surgery but do wish that more insurance companies would pay for this procedure.

Best of luck to you for a speedy recovery. Keep us posted.

Buck, you are right!!!

And you have an awesome fight here.

Have you tried to appeal your insurance comp - maybe they would reconsider?

It is a very real and kind of sad truth that in today's job economy most of us won't be with our current employers or insurance companies long enough for them to see a return on investment (savings) from us having WLS. Sigh, we might retire with the companies we are with now, but it is more likely we'll be working for someone else 2 years from now. So they don't want to pay for something that will end up helping another insurance co. But if they ALL paid for WLS they would ALL benefit in the long run. But they can't think of the broad long-term view when they are trying to improve their bottom line THIS year. Geez, I have a degree in Economics and here I am spouting "for the good of the whole group" socialist stuff. I guess I should know better.

hey, perhaps your econ degree helps you understand this all the better. Understand the social costs, the intangible costs that cannot be quantified in dollars and cents easily. Or perhaps you can quantify them because you understand the value of the intangible.

I haved insurance through my husband's workplace...they are self-insured. They have an exclusion even if medically necessary. I talked to one of the owners about why they won't pay and he said absolutely not..they are already struggling to pay for things "people have no control over like accidents, etc." and I should be able to control my weight with diet and exercise. I would appeal but I will be eligible for Medicare 4/1 and I am cancelling my insurance with my husband's employers...ain't givin' 'em another dime...though they have paid really good on everything I have had done...I don't think I will need them anymore and my husband is never, ever sick but we will keep his until his retirement. There is no way we will be able to pay $500 a month or more for Cobra after he retires but his is a veteran and he is signing up with the VA soon. A couple of his friends use the VA and are quite satisfied. So we shall see.We also have the AFLAC intensive care policy and cancer policy to cover those types of things.