Missouri needs your help!

Once again, there has been a bill introduced in the Missouri senate to require insurers in Missouri to cover medical treatment for morbid obesity. This measure has been introduced year after year only to be stalled in committee. The bill this year is SB 97 sponsored by Senator Days, who is also on the Small Business and Insurance Committee. That is where the bill is now. However, if passed, it would go into effect at the end of August this year. What can we do to lobby for the bill? The insurance companies are more than likely lobbying against it. However, those of us with the exclusions from our insurers are denied treatment for a medical condition that left untreated can cause even more harm and this is discrimination. So, what can we do? Do we write to all the senators on this committee? All the senators period? Thank you for reading and for responding. Most of all, thank you for your help.

I don't have the details in front of me but I read in my local paper last night that there's also a bill to make employees of small businesses the owners of their policies rather than the business owner. This means I would have to purchase my own individual policy and my employer would pay a portion of the premiums. Problem with this bill is that after Gastric Bypass surgery ins companies refused to give me an individual policy, called me uninsurable and high risk. So here's another battle for us. They are trying to solve the issue of unaffordable ins. for small business owners/employees but this solution will make it so that us WLS pts will nto even be able to get insurance unless we work for a large company and can get on a group plan. I'm writing to the politician who printed this article. I'll post his email on here tomorrow if I get a chance. Tami

I had to get on disability in hopes of having my bypas because my husbands company has made the exclusion...not the insurance themselves. I find it laughable that they will pay for the bipap and wheel chair and back surgery but wont pay for WLS which would eliminate my need for such things. nutti

I attended the hearing last year and the amount of insurance representation there to oppose was overwhelming. Everyone-post-op and pre-op needs to write letters to their senators and the senators of the committee.Emails dont carry as much weigth for some reason. They wanted as many personal stories and pictures as possible-success stories and how WLS has changed your health and life and stories of struggle due to being dienied this life saving operation. You can call your senator and Senator Days is a fantastic woman and she is truely on our side but she can't fight for us if we dont not fight for ourselves and each other. Have your familes write too telling of how their lives have changed to have you healthy or how they dont want to see you die -depending on if you are post-op or being excluded. Senator Days may have more information and you can email her to fond out what else might be helpful.Last year a news crew from Springfiled went with us doing a story on one of the girls being excluded. I haven't been able to reach her though. Good luck and keep us posted on what you find out. Dannielle

I agree with you as well Sue. My employer also excludes wls. Or anything for weight loss. I have written all of my elected officials over a month ago and as of yet the only person I have heard from was the Govenor (his usual form letter). My own representative and senator have not even replied. My other question about SB97 is even though it require the insurance companies to provide that coverage, will our employers still be able to opt out of covering wls? Anyone have an answer? Casey PS. I still plan to write them again. The squeaky (sp) wheel gets the oil if it's lucky.

I posted the email address and ph numbers for our local rep as printed in our local paper and the powers that be have pulled my post!!!!!!!!!!! It was not a web link??? That's aggrivating!!!