I'M SOOO EXCITED!! My mother and I have decided to get banded as a partnership. We both need to lose over 100lbs each. She had a kidney transplant in 2004 and is having trouble w/ sleep apnea and her legs due to her weight. I'm just starting to have health problems conncted w/ my weight (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, prediabetes, arthritis). I also have kidney disease, but I am not having the complications that my mother had that required her to have a transplant. Her doctor suggested that she have the procedure done at Mt Carmel West because there is a doctor there that does the lap band procedure w/ only 1 incision. My mother is 65. Her surgery will be paid for by Medicare. My insurance policy (United HealthCare) does not cover weightloss surgery. I will be paying for the procedure out of my own pocket. HAS ANYONE HAD TO PAY FOR THIS PROCEDURE OUT OF THEIR OWN POCKET? GOT ANY TIPS FOR ME?:biggrin:

I had to pay $11,000 while my insurance paid $5,000. If you need to finance you can go to carecredit.com, they do alot of loans for medical reasons.

I don't want to sound harsh or anything but I have 2 questions - One I thought that you weren't allowed to have transplants when you where overweight - I'm going thru the same hurdle as that and also the 2nd is so much a question but I heard that the cutoff age for lapband was 60?

There is no age limit on eligibility for the band. Some INSURANCE companys may limit it ??? (but medicare pays for it now and most people don't even qualify for Medicare until age 65 or older)

I had to pay $11,000 while my insurance paid $5,000. If you need to finance you can go to carecredit.com, they do alot of loans for medical reasons.

I had to pay my insurace did not pay anything. I used care credit for the $12,000 and then paid $3,000 in cash. I was worth every penny....:thumbdown:

Welcome!

I too have UHC, but they are covering all but my deductable on the surgery? You may want to call them directly.

I had the same worries when my dr recommended this and I began investigating on United's website on what they would cover; Their website states they don't cover WLS, even for medical, but when I called them in person and went over the questionaires I had to fill out for my preliminary paperwork, I discovered that they actually do. So I'm pretty stoked! Best of all, they don't require a lot of stuff that other insurances require, like a 6 month dr monitored diet etc. You do need to have a BMI of over 35, but if you are over 100lbs overweight, that shouldn't be an issue.

Either way, best of luck to you on your journey!!!