Its open enrollment with my company which has been bought out by another company...I was excited to renew my benefits but to my surprise this new company excludes bariatric surgery in ALL of their plans. I'm 75% complete with preop visits. I currently have to do a 6 month supervised diet with MD, which will not be complete until March. Any suggestions on what to do? This has been devastating to me.

If the surgery is excluded from all new plans, then it appears self-pay is your only option. I'm sorry, but don't give up. the other thing is - if you're self-pay, there's nothing keeping you from having your surgery earlier.

Edited November 21, 201510 yr by 2goldengirl

is there anyway you can keep the insurance you have by applying for insurance on your own with a bcbs plan that does offer the bariatric surgery? So frustrating, I hope this works out for you.

Is COBRA available? Can you buy your own insurance on the healthcare exchange or through a broker? You do have options. Good luck.

I've looked into different options and whew they are expensive for a family plan. Looks like this would be my only choice. I was reading somewhere about asking HR about a "rider' have anyone heard of that

is there anyway you can keep the insurance you have by applying for insurance on your own with a bcbs plan that does offer the bariatric surgery? So frustrating, I hope this works out for you.

Yes I've looked into that as well

Your employer can give you an administrative override to have the surgery covered specifically for you. I would suggest talking to your HR. If there's a patient advocate at the facility you are having your surgery at they may be able to write a letter to your HR explaining how the surgery will benefit you and them. Make sure they know that studies show health care costs go down by up to 37% each year after surgery. If you have any comorbidities (sleep apnea, diabetes, etc.) make sure your HR is aware of the % of these comorbidities that are completely resolved after surgery. Also make sure they know how hard you've already been working on preparing for surgery.

Your employer can give you an administrative override to have the surgery covered specifically for you. I would suggest talking to your HR. If there's a patient advocate at the facility you are having your surgery at they may be able to write a letter to your HR explaining how the surgery will benefit you and them. Make sure they know that studies show health care costs go down by up to 37% each year after surgery. If you have any comorbidities (sleep apnea, diabetes, etc.) make sure your HR is aware of the % of these comorbidities that are completely resolved after surgery. Also make sure they know how hard you've already been working on preparing for surgery.

thank you so much for this info, I'm going to give it a try!!!