help help on insurance

judyann4 · August 16, 2007

dose anyone have a insurance that would paid for a gastric bypass but not for lapband surgery.that is my insurance <br /> <br /> i can not have the gastric bypass surgery for heath reason but i can have lapband done . can anyone help me .

Alexandra · August 16, 2007

Hi Judyann,

Unfortunately, lots of insurers still have this bizarre restriction. It's excellent grounds for appeal, and you'll find MANY bandsters have been successful in fighting this kind of restriction (myself included). First, have you determined definitively that a) bariatric surgery is covered, but lap-band surgery is specifically NOT covered? If so, what is their reason for excluding it?

It used to be the case that insurers excluded banding saying it was "experimental." But it's now been FDA-approved for more than FIVE years, and it's way past that stage. If you have recourse to an independent review panel you might find they agree with you.

What sort of insurance are you talking about?