feeling defeated

[Hello_Pumpkin 0]

For anyone who hates when someone is feeling down on themselves, then leave this post now lol. I don't have anyone who I can discuss this with in my everyday life, so I'm talking about it here.

But I'm just feeling so defeated. I went ahead and made an appointment with my original surgeon to talk to him about revision from band to sleeve. My band has some sort of leak or disconnection in it and will no longer hold Fluid. It's useless. Now, him doing the surgery is not the problem, I'm sure he'll do it. The problem is money. I work for the state of SC but they don't cover anything bariatric (BCBS Peba). I've applied to 4 or 5 different loan companies to see what rates they'd give me for loans and the first two said they'd give me a loan, but they won't give me the amount I need to cover the procedure. Then Care Credit and Prosper gave me a flat-out "no".
I'm now in the headspace where I feel like calling up my doctor's office and saying forget it and I shouldn't even bother taking the trip to see him if I can't even finance the surgery. This just sucks. I feel like I've hit a wall and it's so disheartening because up until now I have been feeling so positive about taking the steps to get revised and now it seems like even though I want this so badly that it's not going to happen.

If anyone else has had issues with finding financing but found a solution, please let me know.

[LoveSimcha 97]

I am sorry this is going on with you. I don't know much about your state's health insurance but I know a person here in NJ that did not have coverage for anything bariatric and decided to go to college (he took one class) in order to buy health insurance through the college - the health insurance from the college offered bariatric coverage. Apparently a lot of people do this in order to get some covered items like fertility treatments, weight loss surgery or even eye corrective surgery. Might be something to look into.

[DoodlesMom 98]

Understandably, you'd feel defeated. It sounds like you've had one frustration after another. I'm sorry for that.

I like LoveSimcha's idea of finding a student health plan that covers the surgery. If you can make it work, that's a great option.

Even if your insurer won't pay for surgery, they may pay for preop assessments if the provider is in-network. Getting a sleep study, labs, psychotherapy, dietitian visits, and a medically supervised weight loss program covered, your physician just needs to prove medical necessity for those services.

Do you have a Health Saving Account or a Flex Spending Account? If you do, you could use this. I know it wouldn't cover it all but it could soften the blow.

Medicaid covers weight loss surgery if the facility has the Bariatric Center of Excellence designation and the recipient has a BMI of 35 or higher with one comorbidity and a previous medical weight loss attempt. Do you or your partner's employer offer benefits to part-timers? If not, you could request to temporally reduce your hours and apply for Medicaid the day after your coverage expires. Medicaid coverage begins the day you apply. Income limits depend on if you are single or married. You'd need to determine yours and reduce your income enough to meet eligibility.

Lastly, you could check your state's marketplace for a private insurer or pull from your 401(k). I know it's not ideal, and you could take a financial hit, but it could be an option.

I hope this helps. I know this situation is disappointing. Please don't give up, you can make this happen. 😊

[dot_1213 1]

Pay out of pocket for Humana as a secondary insurance. They cover it.

[Loain 2]

Have you tired talking with your surgeon about getting a reduced rate or offering financing? Chances are good they might be able to help. After all they have a reputation to protect too.