Applying for insurance after surgery ?

[coltonwade 27]

Has anyone applied for health insurance after lap band surgery ?

I was denied prior to surgery due to my weight. I am curious now that i have lost weight if i would qualify , but im wondering if my band will affect anything. I thought about not telling them i even have it . My primary docs know i have it but nothing is on my records with them . So im wondering if anyone has gotten health insurance since loosing weight with the band and how they handled it ??

thanks

Mindy

[Kristin1031 0]

I work with insurance companies all day long. I am a biller for a Large Medical group of over 200 physicians. I would not suggest that you lie about your band. They will eventually find out.

If you were to have to have an ER procedure of anykind or xrays or something they would find out. Plus, if you lie and are discovered it will hamper your efforts from ever obtaining insurance in the future.

I do not see why the band would cause any problems getting insurance. They may not cover anything to do with the band perhaps but it should not prevent you from obtaining insurance.

[coltonwade 27]

I work with insurance companies all day long. I am a biller for a Large Medical group of over 200 physicians. I would not suggest that you lie about your band. They will eventually find out.

If you were to have to have an ER procedure of anykind or xrays or something they would find out. Plus, if you lie and are discovered it will hamper your efforts from ever obtaining insurance in the future.

I do not see why the band would cause any problems getting insurance. They may not cover anything to do with the band perhaps but it should not prevent you from obtaining insurance.

I just heard back from one of the insurance companies my agent spoke to , as long as i have the band its a PERMANENT DECLINE ! They will never cover me . They said they will not cover anyone who has had any gastric surgery ! due to "Complications" that may come up . What a CROCK !

Right now i have what is called the Texas High Risk Health Pool Insurance its for people who are " un insurable " I pay $250 a month for just ME ,

they just sent me a letter stating my rates are going up to $309 a month !!

I have heard of others who have had problems with getting it. Im self employed and unless i go back to work i think im doomed to pay an arm and a leg for this insurance. I dont get it .

Mindy

[Longhorn 1]

Mindy:

I would check with more than one insurance company, just in case. I've had certain conditions excluded or "rated" differently. Also, what about a Medical Savings Account? I wonder if the qualifications are different for one of those?

Good luck! I hated finding insurance when we were self-employed. I pay an arm and a leg for what we now get through my work (since the college doesn't pay for any of it) but at least I don't have to deal with agents any more! :angry

[coltonwade 27]

Mindy:

I would check with more than one insurance company, just in case. I've had certain conditions excluded or "rated" differently. Also, what about a Medical Savings Account? I wonder if the qualifications are different for one of those?

Good luck! I hated finding insurance when we were self-employed. I pay an arm and a leg for what we now get through my work (since the college doesn't pay for any of it) but at least I don't have to deal with agents any more! :angry[/q

oh yeah i am checking more than one company taht is why my agent is doing now

I dont mind dealing with MY agent that is what they do , they shop around so oi dont have to .

So hopefully they will find something soon .

Mindy

[Longhorn 1]

Well, the agent that we had for other insurance didn't do health insurance so I had to call around. What I found wasn't pretty! It was very cutthroat, with them telling me lies and even badmouthing each other! Then they wouldn't quit calling me, even after I told them that I had found something. I have a fantastic used car salesman -- but never found a decent health insurance agent. I'll have to get your agent's name if we find ourselves in need again!

[coltonwade 27]

Well, the agent that we had for other insurance didn't do health insurance so I had to call around. What I found wasn't pretty! It was very cutthroat, with them telling me lies and even badmouthing each other! Then they wouldn't quit calling me, even after I told them that I had found something. I have a fantastic used car salesman -- but never found a decent health insurance agent. I'll have to get your agent's name if we find ourselves in need again!

This is the people we use for our commerical stuff but they do everything.

They are awesome. They shop around all the companies for us.

[restricted 0]

I pay more than $309 for my 11 year old daughter. You are getting a good deal.

[Cerrin 3]

What about life insurance?

[coltonwade 27]

I got life insurance before i got the band thank goodness ! And with that actually it will go DOWN because my weight has gone down and once my sleep apnea is gone it will go down again .

Im sorry if it seems like im bitching but $309 is A LOT of money to me when you take into consideration i pay over $500 a month for ONE medication I am one for my Migraines to prevent them . Add on the additional $50 for the other Migraine med, I cant even get the abortive meds I take for my migraines because they are too expensive . So im paying nearly $1000 a month for just MYSELF for meds/insurance. Im sure some people have it bad but this is something i Cant really afford to do but I do it because i have to .

I was shopping around to see if I can find it cheaper. I COULD get insurance now cheaper if i didnt have the band. Which i think is Ridiculous!

Mindy

[Kristin1031 0]

I would think that there are many insurance companies out there that will cover you no matter band or not......they may choose to exclude the band....and any complications from it as pre exisiting, but I would not think they would deny you.

At least not the larger companies....call United Health Care and Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Aetna and some of these types of companies. Alot of them cover the band surgery now, and UHC and BCBS both do so I would they think they would not exclude you because of having this surgery.

I have a wonderful insurance plan thru my work, it is a self funded plan thru the OSF Healthcare network of hospitals and medical group. It paid for my surgery I only paid $200 co pay. I love my job and took it because the medical insurance is awesome. I pay $103 a month for my insurance for DH and me.

Just shop around, I am sure you can find someone.

[coltonwade 27]

I would think that there are many insurance companies out there that will cover you no matter band or not......they may choose to exclude the band....and any complications from it as pre exisiting, but I would not think they would deny you.

At least not the larger companies....call United Health Care and Blue Cross Blue Shield, and Aetna and some of these types of companies. Alot of them cover the band surgery now, and UHC and BCBS both do so I would they think they would not exclude you because of having this surgery.

I have a wonderful insurance plan thru my work, it is a self funded plan thru the OSF Healthcare network of hospitals and medical group. It paid for my surgery I only paid $200 co pay. I love my job and took it because the medical insurance is awesome. I pay $103 a month for my insurance for DH and me.

Just shop around, I am sure you can find someone.

BCBS said no , so did Aetna. Private policies are totally different than group plans, they can deny you for what ever they want to .Group plans except everyone regardless . The private pay companies will not even put a writer in for having the band as an exclusion . TRUST ME I TRIED !

Logic does not come into play for them . I knew this could be an issue , i have heard from others that they found a difficult time getting insured post op . If i have to stay on the risk pool I Do . If it comes to the point where i really cant afford it anymore, i'll have to go get a job JUST for insurance.

WE make decent money owning our own company but like i said $1000 a month is a lot for just my insurance and meds.

Thanks

Mindy

[coltonwade 27]

Just shop around, I am sure you can find someone.

My insurance agent who has access to HUNDREDS of insurance companies is looking and as of 5 pm today nothing , no one will do it. Its not as simple as it sounds ! He's still looking though .

Mindy

[rharriet62 0]

I just went through this during the last few weeks. No one will insure you after a band or a gastric bypass! The guy I talked to said his sisters had lapbands and he told them to NEVER drop their insurance because they would never get it again! SO, since mine expired due to a COBRA, I got major medical rather easily, but it will never cover anything to do with the band. They are also really stingy about ANY hospital stay in the future, only allowing up to $1000 a day. My other problem is that WYOMING does not have the number of companies serving our state that bigger states may have. SO, I pay $329 for basically crappy insurance now! Luckily, I am not on any meds or anything like that. This is a topic no one ever tells you (or at least no one ever told me) when I got my band.

[coltonwade 27]

I just went through this during the last few weeks. No one will insure you after a band or a gastric bypass! The guy I talked to said his sisters had lapbands and he told them to NEVER drop their insurance because they would never get it again! SO, since mine expired due to a COBRA, I got major medical rather easily, but it will never cover anything to do with the band. They are also really stingy about ANY hospital stay in the future, only allowing up to $1000 a day. My other problem is that WYOMING does not have the number of companies serving our state that bigger states may have. SO, I pay $329 for basically crappy insurance now! Luckily, I am not on any meds or anything like that. This is a topic no one ever tells you (or at least no one ever told me) when I got my band.

Thanks for your response. Have you checked to see if your state has something similar to the High Risk health plan Texas has ? for what your paying for the major medical you could get it. It is expensive but it is actually good insurance. $30 doctors visits and actually one of the best RX plans around. It wont cover anything you have pre existing for the first yr but it will after the yr. In fact i have been talking to my husband about it and he said that its not really that big of a deal , if I switch now chances are the insurance wont cover my Migraines for a yr , the high risk health pool i have will cover my meds i pay so much for in July . SO i will save money then . So if i can not get another plan then its not THAT Big of a deal . I was just a little ticked about it at the time.

You might want to check into the state and see if they have a high risk pool ??

HTH

Mindy