Hi All, my first time posting after lurking for about a week.

I have been thinking and researching lapbanding for awhile now,and I had finally decided this is truly the path I want to take. BUT today I found out my insurance will cover the surgery for a BMI of 40 or greater, mine is (only!) 38.

So, my first plan of action is to intentionally gain the addional 10 or so pounds so it will be covered. Does this make any sense to any of you?? Or am I being silly???

I have never been told I'm not fat enough before!!!

Thanks for any suggestions.

Hi! I have been lurking with you all week and have just joined myself. I don't have any advice since I am brand new, but I just wanted to say hi!

Patti

It cost me $10,600 to pay for my surgery in Mexico. Plus airfare. If gaining 10 pounds - or even 20 pounds - would have made my insurance pay for the surgery, I would have done it.

I expect my response will get a lot of negative feedback, but in reality, if you're willing to pay more than $10,000 to lose the weight, a relatively small weight gain to save that much seems like a no-brainer to me. Now, if you have to gain 30, 40, or 50 pounds to make the cut, that's a different story. At least it is in my Fairytale.

Good luck with your decision - let us know what you decide.

No no no no....DO NOT gain 10 lbs so you can be approved. I was in the same boat you were--go to Walmart and buy two 5 lb ankle weights and strap them on just for your weigh in. As long as you wear baggy sweat pants nobody will be the wiser. Much better idea IMO than sabatoging yourself by pigging out. You are embarking on an incredible journey to get healthier--no need to make it harder in the end to get the weight off. Good luck to you!

~Liz~

03/10/06

241/182/150ish

5'7''

Well, um. Ya. I guess you COULD do that.

Boy do I feel dumb. lol

Oh, wait. If you do that it's insurance fraud. Insurance fraud carries a pretty stiff penalty. 10 pounds is not worth going to jail for.

I stand by my original post.

I would have to go with Donna, gain the ten pounds then right after your first surgons app. you can go on a diet to lose it. The idea to wear weights would not work if the doctor requires you to change into a gown before weighing you. It seems so backwards that you have to gain weight so you can lose weight but that is the case. the only thing is don't get carried away and oh another idea would be to do some strength training since muscle weigh more than fat but it would prob. be easier to just gain the weight. Good luck with your decision.

I wouldnt want to but I would, I was very careful not to lose any weight over the entire period I was considering the surgery. As it turned out in Australia you dont need to worry about that stuff at all, but I got all my info from here and even though I realised our health system is entirely different, I thought I may be excluded on the basis of my BMI of 35.

As it turns out, you can get done from about BMI 30 here.

Before gaining 10 pounds you better check with your insurance company. Why? Some insurance companies want to see proof that you've been at a BMI of 40 or > for a certain period of time (years in most cases).

Thank You Everyone! I really appreciate all the feedback,I will definately take it all into consideration!

I have the same problem--my BMI is below 40. However, it is over 35 and I have two comorbidities, as my insurance requires. However, my carrier requires that you have a BMI above 40, or at least 35 with two comorbidities for 5 years. I have had only 1 co-morbidity for 5 years. I thought about gaining weight for about 5 seconds before I dropped the idea. So, it looks like I'll be self-pay, if I proceed.

After a career in human resources administering health care benefits, I can second the comment that health care fraud is nothing to fool around with. It's considered a crime. (Yikes!)

I re-financed my house. So when I sold it to move, I had no equity. But my equity is being repaid by the fact that I am healthier now and plan to live longer. Celeste

I'd have to say, before you make a decision to gain the weight needed to raise your BMI, you'd better make sure, you'll be approved at that point. Every health plan is so different, you really need to do your research.