Anyone had help from employer for surgery?

[Sparkles!! 77]

Hi! In the last few months I finally came to the decision to undergo bariatric surgery. I've been driving myself a little crazy with all the research I've been doing into the possibility of doing it here in Denver, or going to Mexico, since the costs are much lower. My HR director had assured me that bariatric surgery was not excluded under our company plan... except that I found out today that she was wrong.

I've heard of instances in which companies will sometimes pay for someone to get it done in Mexico, rather than having to add it to the insurance. Has anyone done this? If so, how did you approach your employer, or was it just offered?

I'm just curious.

Storykpr

[kranky813 477]

Sorry, I haven't heard of this but working in HR I can tell you to just go and talk to someone in the benefits department at your job or you can call your insurance company to see if they would pay for the cost of care in Mexico.

You don't know an answer to something until you ask. IMO

[PJinTenn 0]

Any update? Did you employer help? What have you decided. I think surgery is excluded from my health plan.

[Sparkles!! 77]

I did speak to HR. Unfortunately, my employer is not set up in a way that allows them to help, at least not currently. Maybe they'll re-vamp the system and magically surprise me with some help... but I'm not holding my breath on that one :-) Our benefits are slated to be renewed in a month or so, so there might be a policy change, but it is highly unlikely to happen.

As for what I decided to do... I scheduled surgery in Cancun with dr. verboonen in July. I took out a small personal loan, to pay for everything. I hated the idea of taking out a loan, but it was the only real option I had. There have been some good things to come out of it as well, though.

One of the ways my employer has been able to assist me is in offering short term disability. Because the pay is a lot more reasonable than I had originally expected, I'll be able to take a full month off work. I have a desk job that is pretty easy physically, so I probably won't need the full month, but it will give me time to fully recover, as well as to really set up my eating habits and schedule for when I return.

I would just talk to your HR director and find out what your options are since your insurance may not cover it. The worse they can say is, "Sorry, but there's nothing we can do for the surgery directly." but maybe they'll be able to assist in other ways, such as short-term disability, etc. Good luck, and let us know what you end up deciding to do :-)