MellyBean

Hi everyone! I'm new to this website, but have been looking into the lapband for 7 months now. I recently got a new job with American Medical Response and now have Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield PPO. I've been in touch with a few different Surgery Facilities, all saying that I will need documented medical history from a physician. One company said 6 months history, another said 3 years. My problem is that I've never had medical insurance before, therefor I haven't seen a Dr. since I was 15 years old. (I'm 25 now) Do most insurance companies want proof that you've actually seen a physician for 6 months to 3 years regarding weight loss? Or are they just looking for a physician to document a person's stated struggles and trials with weight loss? I'll be in touch with my insurance company tomorrow to find out for sure what their criteria are. Anyone have expereince with Anthem BCBS, by the way? Thanks so much!! I'm really hoping for the lapband. I know in my heart it's the best approach! :clap2:

Hi Ryan. I had enrolled in the Anthem plan over the Kasier option because of all of the people I had read about who had bariatric surgery covered by Anthem BCBS. After a lot of phone calls and questions, I discovered my EMPLOYER actually excluded weight loss surgery from our anthem policy. From what I hear, there's not a lot one can do at that point. Though, I think I heard one story about a woman getting past her written exclusion with obesitylaw.com. After I found out about my employer's written exclusion, I got on my knees and PRAYED for God to provide a way. :faint: lol Then something AMAZING happened! I called the benefits department at work, and asked them about our Kaiser plan. My employer had NOT excluded weight loss surgery from Kaiser. WHY they would exclude from one and not the other, I have no idea. So I asked when open enrollment was and they said it was in about 8 months. But come to find out, the window that HR had opened for me to enroll that was supposed to close WEEKS ago had remained open....which they couldn't explain. So they let me switch right there on the spot. How AMAZING is that? That's unheard of...at least to me. :clap2: I'm so excited! Then, a new gal started working in my department. She was actually a rehire as she worked there for 7 years but left 3 years ago and decided to come back. She and I just got to talking and she told me she had gastric bypass. She had it done while working for our company and had KAISER through work. I'm tellin ya....there are no coincidences. I really wish you luck Ryan. Don't get discouraged! I know it's cliche, but when there's a will there's a way. I even considered looking into possibly enrolling in my own private secondary coverage, hoping to have it paid for or at least partially paid for. Find out if there's another insurance company your employer offers....if there is, find out if there's a written exclusion through that one. If there isn't, JUMP ON IT when open enrollment comes around. Don't give up!

I just got off the phone with Anthem BCBS, and like you, I was told that WLS was excluded, at least from my policy, anyway. That's discouraging, as I did a lot of research on Anthem BCBS and found so many people who had used it to have the lapband done. I didn't think about finding out whether my employer excludes it. Such a shame.

I just got off the phone with Anthem BCBS, and like Tigerlily, I was told that WLS was excluded, at least from my policy, anyway. That's discouraging, as I did a lot of research on Anthem BCBS and found so many people who had used it to have the lapband done. I didn't think about finding out whether my employer excludes it. Such a shame.