Recent Posts
Anthem notified us we had to change from an employer sponsored plan to an individual or family one because my husband's company no longer has employees. However, they are refusing to cover me now because I have "had bariatric surgery within five years". United Health Care/Golden Rule rejected me for the same reason. I have sailed through this process so far. Had surgery on 9/14/10 and have had no complications. I had a BMI of 41.3 and no co-morbidities when I started. I've lost 98# and my BMI is now 27, and I'm 32# shy of my goal. I take no medications and am healthier than ever.
I've gone to the Ohio Dept of Insurance website to check into their high risk pool and even though they have a pretty lengthy and exhaustive list of pre-existing conditions, WLS is not considered to be one of them. I'll call Monday to confirm.
In the meantime, I've written to a couple of the trade associations for bariatric surgeons to alert them to this possible trend.
Has anyone else experienced this? Any words of wisdom?
Ask your surgeon if they discount if you pay out of pocket.
Hang in there!
Mark
I have also been denied by Aetna for bariatric surgery. I wrote an appeal letter two weeks ago explaining my co-morbidities and providing a copy of the doctor's letters diagnosing me with diabetes, sleep apnea and stress incontinence. Aetna is refusing to recognize the co-morbidities and stating that my BMI has not been at 40 for the past two years. I am arguing that my BMI has been at 35 with the co-morbidities for the past two years. So, my question is, what type of information should I provide to show that I suffer from the co-morbid conditions. I provided them with my doctor's letter for the diabetes, along with the contemporaneous medical records from the doctor's showing that I was being treated for diabetes and that I was currently being prescribed metaformin. Any insight you can provide will be appreciated. I am really distraught because I thought for sure that the surgery would be approved this time. Thanks, Gail
As far as the insurance fight, it was a hard battle to be sure. Both before and after surgery but you have to hang in there. Appeal your denial with all the reasons why you DO qualify. Just be prepared emotionally, I had to do it twice. I re-read and took from their website the section on qualifying for weight loss surgery - like when they said I hadn't been compliant with my doctor supervised diet, I pointed out I had followed and completed his program exactly. A specific amount of weight loss was not a criteria stated in those insurance qualifications so that denial didn't hold up because they didn't list it. I met all the other qualifying reasons for WLS: I had multiple co-morbidities (diabetes, high blood pressure, hyper lipedemia). Construct your letter in such a manner that you cover all your health issues point by point, including how your current state of obesity negatively affects the quality of your daily life. I wore slip on style shoes because I couldn't bend over to tie them because of my large stomach. I couldn't walk a flight of stairs without losing my breath and heart pounding. Describe in detail exactly how you feel every day. You have to convince them. No one can do this better than yourself. Don't feel like you're being gross or too personal either. They need to know graphically - these are doctors that review these records anyway, they've heard/seen it all before so don't be afraid to list personal details that make daily life unbearable for you. List all the diets you have tried (and failed at) too. Ask your surgeon if he will give you a supporting letter of surgical need. Attach copies of any previous diet plan records if you have them, doctor's records that show the diagnosis codes for any co-morbidities, recorded weight, etc. My second denial was for not having proof of a 5-yr weight history showing morbid obesity. Thank goodness I had an emergency room visit and was able to get a copy of those records that proved to them I had been "fat" long enough. It's just ridiculous what some insurance companies will put you through. Again, hang in there. Write that appeal letter and mail it off and then be patient. I know that's hard too - the waiting. Total time for me from when my doctor submitted my stuff to insurance to the time I was finally approved was 3 months. It was pure agony for me. If I can help you in any way, let me know. I would be glad to pay it forward. I had help with mine from another obesityhelp member. This is a truly great website for anyone on a weight loss journey.
Hugz - Pat
