INSURANCE ISSUES

AS YOU KNOW, MS DEBORAH & MS BRITTY ARE HEADING UP AN EFFORT TO INFLUENCE INSURANCE COMPANIES TO COVER WLS ... ESPECIALLY BCBSSC, THE STATE EMPLOYEE INSURER (THEY CHANGED THEIR POLICY & NOW REFUSE TO COVER WLS ... OTHER COMPANIES WILL NO DOUBT FOLLOW THEIR LEAD LEAVING THOUSANDS OF SOUTH CAROLINIANS WITHOUT ANY HOPE OF RECOVERY FROM OBESITY & ITS RELATED HEALTH PROBLEMS). MS BARBARA'S FATHER, SC SENATOR BILL MESCHER (FROM THE PINOPOLIS AREA) & HIS WIFE, MS KITTY, ATTENDED OUR LCBBuddies' SUPPORT GROUP MEETING TONIGHT. WE WERE HONORED TO HAVE THEM & APPRECIATE THEIR TIME & GRACIOUSNESS TOWARDS US & OUR CONCERNS. THE BEST PLACE TO START A LETTER-WRITING CAMPAIGN IS BCBSSC (MS DEB HAS PREVIOUSLY POSTED CONTACT INFO). BE SURE TO ASK WHY THEY CHANGED THEIR POLICY ... WHAT WAS THE BASIS FOR THEM NO LONGER COVERING WLS. THEN, RELAY YOUR EXPERIENCES WITH WLS ... THE GOOD & THE BAD - BE HONEST. BE SURE TO PUT A "cc" TO "SC SENATOR BILL MESCHER" SO THEY KNOW WE ARE IN CONTACT WITH HIM. IF AT ALL POSSIBLE, FORWARD A COPY OF YOUR LETTER TO MS DEB, MS BRITTY, OR MS BARBARA (SHE CAN GIVE THEM TO HER FATHER, THE SENATOR). HE WILL THEN PERSONALLY CONTACT THE HEAD OF BCBSSC TO TRY TO ESTABLISH A WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM AS A MEANS TO INVESTIGATE THE REASONS BEHIND THEIR CHANGE IN POLICY &, HOPEFULLY, AS A WAY TO ENCOURAGE BCBSSC TO RETHINK THIS DECISION. HE WILL ALSO TALK TO LEGISLATORS ON THE INSURANCE COMMITTEE TRYING TO GET A FEEL FOR OPINIONS ON THIS TYPE OF COVERAGE, ETC. HE NEEDS OUR EXPERIENCES, BUT ALSO NEEDS FACTS & STATISTICS. MS DEB IS GOING TO DO SOME FACT-FINDING EFFORT & FORWARD THE INFORMATION TO SENATOR MESCHER. IF IT IS NECESSARY TO GO THE LEGISLATIVE ROUTE (OBVIOUSLY,THE LAST TYPE OF EFFORT IS TO FORCE COVERAGE BY LAW), SENATOR MESCHER WILL LET US KNOW WHAT IS NEEDED. BUT, FOR NOW ... THIS IS A LONG PROCESS THAT WILL TAKE PATIENCE & PERSISTENCE ... STARTING WITH BCBSSC. PLEASE TAKE THE TIME TO HELP OTHERS GET THIS HEALTH-IMPROVING, LIFE-SAVING PROCEDURE BY TAKING A FEW MINUTES TO JUST WRITE A LETTER. THAT'S ALL. THANKS & GOD BLESS DAWN & NICK