Question:
Is individual ins. hard to obtain because of morbid obesity?

   — mischief85 (posted on February 23, 2003)

February 23, 2003
It may be hard to get individual insurance and if you do, it may have a specific exclusion for WLS. However, contact your state's insurance division to see if they have a program for 'uninsurable' folks. Colorado does. You have to have been turned down by a certain number of insurers and it's pretty expensive, but your state may have something similar that could help you. Go to www.STATENAME.gov and put your state's full name in STATENAME. Then look for insurance. I know in my state it's in the department of regulatory agencies, but it's different in each state.
   — garw

February 23, 2003
I was denied a personal healthplan because I was morbidly obese (you would think that's discrimination) and my daughter and ex-husband were approved, the only good thing that came out of this was i finally got insurance through an employer with this health group and then they tried to deny me WLS so...my rebuttal was how a few years ago you deny me coverage because I was morbidly obese and now I am eyou won't approve me for the surgery to fix the problem?
   — I U.

February 23, 2003
My state mandates that they have to offer basic coverage for the high risk group. They lump morbidly obese people in with those with cancer and such. The problem is that the insurance is very expensive and covers almost nothing. Basically its worthless unless you want to carry it for that much money just incase you end up in the hospital. And then, you still have high deductables and tons of expenses they don't cover. From my experience, at least here where I am, the best bet for getting descent medical you can afford is to go with a group plan through an employer. Unfortunately I haven't found a single employer anywhere near me that carries insurance that covers WLS.
   — Shelly S.

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