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Blue shield of California (medical)



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"Conservative measures" could include medications, exercise, eating less -- as opposed to a formal weight loss program.

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This topic says "Blue Shield of California", so I am responding with the assumption that you and other posters have Blue Shield of California. If you have another insurance provider, this is not a good thread to ask your question.

OMG I'm sorry..will this surgery help my brain too? Hehe

Thank you very much for all the help and information. Insurance can be so confusing!

Edited by la.pereira

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I am currently employed and my employer excludes bariatric surgery on their insurance policies. I have been through appeals for the last year and am finally just ready to go out and purchase a healthcare plan outside of my employer and pay the extreme out of pocket cost for the premium to have this medically necessary surgery... My question is there ia the bronze, silver and gold etc Blue shield plans but all say they "cover" bariatric- How much did you guys actually pay out of pocket for the surgery, hospital stay etc? I am just trying to plan ahead- if I have to pay the premium and a deductible I want to be prepared.

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I am currently employed and my employer excludes bariatric surgery on their insurance policies. I have been through appeals for the last year and am finally just ready to go out and purchase a healthcare plan outside of my employer and pay the extreme out of pocket cost for the premium to have this medically necessary surgery... My question is there ia the bronze, silver and gold etc Blue shield plans but all say they "cover" bariatric- How much did you guys actually pay out of pocket for the surgery, hospital stay etc? I am just trying to plan ahead- if I have to pay the premium and a deductible I want to be prepared.

My total out of pocket cost for the surgery, hospital, follow up, etc -- was somewhere less than $1200. The actual bills were more than $100,000.

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I am currently employed and my employer excludes bariatric surgery on their insurance policies. I have been through appeals for the last year and am finally just ready to go out and purchase a healthcare plan outside of my employer and pay the extreme out of pocket cost for the premium to have this medically necessary surgery... My question is there ia the bronze, silver and gold etc Blue shield plans but all say they "cover" bariatric- How much did you guys actually pay out of pocket for the surgery, hospital stay etc? I am just trying to plan ahead- if I have to pay the premium and a deductible I want to be prepared.

My total out of pocket cost for the surgery, hospital, follow up, etc -- was somewhere less than $1200. The actual bills were more than $100,000.

But that coverage was for my plan, etc. Your coverage on an exchange plan is going to differ. It's pretty complicated to estimate, unfortunately. You need to look at per year maximums, life time maximums, out of pocket expense maximums, etc. We basically have the best version of the BSCA policy my partner's employer offers, and that's a really great policy. We also were careful to use in-network for everything.

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    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. LeighaTR

        I hope your surgery on Wednesday goes well. You will be able to do all sorts of new things as you find your new normal after surgery. I don't know this from experience yet, but I am seeing a lot of positive things from people who have had it done. Best of luck!

    • Alisa_S

      On day 4 of the 2 week liquid pre-op diet. Surgery scheduled for June 11th.
      Soooo I am coming to a realization
      of something and I'm not sure what to do about it. For years the only thing I've enjoyed is eating. We rarely do anything or go anywhere and if we do it always includes food. Family comes over? Big family dinner! Go camping? Food! Take a short ride or trip? Food! Holiday? Food! Go out of town for a Dr appointment? Food! When we go to a new town we don't look for any attractions, we look for restaurants we haven't been to. Heck, I look forward to getting off work because that means it's almost supper time. Now that I'm drinking these pre-op shakes for breakfast, lunch, and supper I have nothing to look forward to.  And once I have surgery on June 11th it'll be more of the same shakes. Even after pureed stage, soft food stage, and finally regular food stage, it's going to be a drastic change for the rest of my life. I'm giving up the one thing that really brings me joy. Eating. How do you cope with that? What do you do to fill that void? Wow. Now I'm sad.
      · 1 reply
      1. summerseeker

        Life as a big person had limited my life to what I knew I could manage to do each day. That was eat. I hadn't anything else to look forward to. So my eating choices were the best I could dream up. I planned the cooking in managable lots in my head and filled my day with and around it.

        Now I have a whole new big, bigger, biggest, best days ever. I am out there with those skinny people doing stuff i could never have dreamt of. Food is now an after thought. It doesn't consume my day. I still enjoy the good home cooked food but I eat smaller portions. I leave food on my plate when I am full. I can no longer hear my mother's voice saying eat it all up, ther are starving children in Africa who would want that!

        I still cook for family feasts, I love cooking. I still do holidays but I have changed from the All inclusive drinking and eating everything everyday kind to Self catering accommodation. This gives me the choice of cooking or eating out as I choose. I rarely drink anymore as I usually travel alone now and I feel I need to keep aware of my surroundings.

        I don't know at what point my life expanded, was it when I lost 100 pounds? Was it when I left my walking stick at home ? Was it when I said yes to an outing instead of finding an excuse to stay home ? i look back at my last five years and wonder how loosing weight has made such a difference. Be ready to amaze yourself.

        BTW, the liquid diet sucks, one more day and you are over the worst. You can do it.

    • CaseyP1011

      Officially here for a long time, not just a good time💪
      · 0 replies
      1. This update has no replies.
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