Has anyone applied for health insurance after lap band surgery ?

I was denied prior to surgery due to my weight. I am curious now that i have lost weight if i would qualify , but im wondering if my band will affect anything. I thought about not telling them i even have it . My primary docs know i have it but nothing is on my records with them . So im wondering if anyone has gotten health insurance since loosing weight with the band and how they handled it ??

thanks

Mindy

We have been self employed for 24 years. Therefore I feel like somewhat of an expert on health insurance for the self employed. Health insurance is a whole other ball of wax for the self employed. Unfortunately we don't have the luxury of a group plan, and once your weight becomes and issue you are pretty much out of luck finding any insurance company that will cover you. And if you have any other pre-existing conditions, well forget about it. No one will cover you. I tried for years to change to another health insurance plan because ours had become outrageously expensive. I could not get coverage with anyone because of my weight. I ended up putting my husband and daughter on the Scott and White health plan and I had to settle for the Risk Pool, which, believe it or not, was about half of what I was paying for Golden Rule:( at the time I changed. Neither one paid for lap band or bypass. It makes absolutely no sense for these insurance companies to not pay for a surgery that will cost them less money in the long run. STUPID, STUPID. I HATE INSURANCE COMPANIES! :angryAll I can say is those of you who have group health insurance don't know how lucky you are.

OK, I'll get off my soap box now. I am going to go to Juarez and pay for it myself. I give up.

We have been self employed for 24 years. Therefore I feel like somewhat of an expert on health insurance for the self employed. Health insurance is a whole other ball of wax for the self employed. Unfortunately we don't have the luxury of a group plan, and once your weight becomes and issue you are pretty much out of luck finding any insurance company that will cover you. And if you have any other pre-existing conditions, well forget about it. No one will cover you. I tried for years to change to another health insurance plan because ours had become outrageously expensive. I could not get coverage with anyone because of my weight. I ended up putting my husband and daughter on the Scott and White health plan and I had to settle for the Risk Pool, which, believe it or not, was about half of what I was paying for Golden Rule:( at the time I changed. Neither one paid for lap band or bypass. It makes absolutely no sense for these insurance companies to not pay for a surgery that will cost them less money in the long run. STUPID, STUPID. I HATE INSURANCE COMPANIES! :angryAll I can say is those of you who have group health insurance don't know how lucky you are.

OK, I'll get off my soap box now. I am going to go to Juarez and pay for it myself. I give up.

My husband and boys all have a private plan from BCBS of Texas and its a great plan , really its basically the same plan as mine through the risk pool, except i pay about $250 a month for all 3 of them compared to my rates as of Jan 1 $309 for just me ! It is all ridicoulous. I honestly do not see how insurance companies can deny people due to weight, any other place is would be discrimination ! .

So im resolved to the risk pool for now at least, until the insurance industry recoginzes the lap band for what it is ! .

Thanks Noni

Mindy

Insurance companies can deny due to weight because weight causes all sorts of physical problems to arise and the whole reason insurance companies are IN business is to MAKE money not pay it out.

In other words Weight = HIGH RISK of paying out large sums. Now with that being said I am in no way defending insurance companies. I think WLS should be a wonderful welcome thing to them. However, there are those who do get the surgery who do not follow the programs and diet as instructed and eat whatever they wish and want and end up gaining all the weight back or never lose at all.

This has made the insurance companies sketpical of the success of WLS in whole. I think the more they see success long term, and people whose overall health has dramatically been made better, they will jump on board.

We are such a superficial society, we judge everyone by their body type. If you think you don't look at the stars and the singers and the so called famous people we tend to like or adore or fawn over or whatever you like to call it.

Look at them and ask yourself are they at Healthy weights or are they grossly UNDER weight or are they OBESE or MORBIDLY OBESE?

When we stop making everyone think that being like a stick figure is where we need to be, we will have done a great service to our childrens's children. When we focus on the emotional side of being heavy, we will do a great service to those hurting inside who turn to food for comfort because no one thinks they matter enough.

When the majority no longer thinks that fat people are FAT because they are merely LAZY, we will be on our way to winning the WAR. Fat people are some of the most focused and determined people I know. I myself in th3 29 years my weight has been an issue has gained and lost nearly 500 pounds.....that is an amazing number.

When things stop being about MONEY and start being about HEALTH then people will get the treatments they need to become healthy and stay healthy. Think about that when you step up to the polling booth this November, or if YOU CHOOSE not too!

FOOD for Thought!!

What will happen is once the insurance companies realize and see there is money to be made and LOTS of money to be from covering baratric surgery then they will . I suspect it will start happening in the next yr or 2 .

All of a sudden the "Studies" will show how benifical it is and the lobbiests will start to lobby the insurance companies to change the underwriting.

I think at this point they do not realize just HOW MUCH money there is in this surgery yet. They will soon !

Mindy