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Have a question regarding insurance. My employer offers 3 plans and 2 of them specifically state they cover bariatric surgery. However the one I have, healthplus hmo of mi says on the paper they give us that it does not cover any medication or procedure to assist in weight loss. I thought it was weird because most plans do cover so I the number on the back of my card and asked them why it's not covered. I gave them my ID number so they could look up my specific plan and the lady assured me that it is covered after all the requirements are met. I'm so confused as to why it would be listed as an exclusion but then the health plus rep would tell me it's covered. Who is more likely to be wrong? My employer or the health plus rep. I have major anxiety! I don't wanna wait til next year when I can switch plans. I want surgery now!!

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Which has the shortest requirements?

That's the one I'd go with, good luck

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Which has the shortest requirements? That's the one I'd go with, good luck

I can't switch until January. I'm hoping to get the one I have currently to cover it

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I would look up the medical policy on their web site. If you can't find it they should be able to assist.

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If your employer says it's covered and a rep at the insurance says it's covered it should be covered. It sounds like it's an extra benefit employers can purchase. It's probably not standard coverage

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The insurance rep probably knows the policy better than your job HR person.

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If the insurance plan's rep said it's covered go with that. But for your own peace, call them again. Ask if they track their calls, do they document what you were told, is it covered, what's the rep's name, is this being documented (yes please do!) thank you very much bye.

Probably your employer has a stack of old info they gave you and the plan has changed since that paper was printed. However definitely double-check and get the rep's name and make sure the call is documented... If it comes to an appeal situation you can then say x rep told me on March 17 that it's covered, y rep told me on March 14 it's covered, etc. :)

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    • Aunty Mamo

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    • BeanitoDiego

      Oh yeah, something I wanted to rant about, a billing dispute that cropped up 3 months ago.
      Surgery was in August of 2023. A bill shows up for over $7,000 in January. WTF? I asks myself. I know that I jumped through all of the insurance hoops and verified this and triple checked that, as did the surgeon's office. All was set, and I paid all of the known costs before surgery.
      A looong story short, is that an assistant surgeon that was in the process of accepting money from my insurance company touched me while I was under anesthesia. That is what the bill was for. But hey, guess what? Some federal legislation was enacted last year to help patients out when they cannot consent to being touched by someone out of their insurance network. These types of bills fall under something called, "surprise billing," and you don't have to put up with it.
      https://www.cms.gov/nosurprises
      I had to make a lot of phone calls to both the surgeon's office and the insurance company and explain my rights and what the maximum out of pocket costs were that I could be liable for. Also had to remind them that it isn't my place to be taking care of all of this and that I was going to escalate things if they could not play nice with one another.
      Quick ending is that I don't have to pay that $7,000+. Advocate, advocate, advocate for yourself no matter how long it takes and learn more about this law if you are ever hit with a surprise bill.
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    • BeanitoDiego

      Still purging all of the larger clothing. This morning, a shirt that I ADORED wearing ended up on top. Hard to let it go, but it was also hard to let go of those habits that also no longer serve my highest good. Onward and upward!
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