obesity discrimination and insurance

[anne43 1]

I had my band paid for by insurance - but we have since changed insurance companies and our new insurance says specifically it does not cover any surgery for obesity - now it covers all other dependancy problems - drug, alcohol, smoking - any other addiction -but it will not cover obesity - don't you think that is discrimination based on a person's weight - and don't you think a lawyer wouldn't have jumped all over this before now? I have always just wondered if anyone has ever tried to sue an insurance company for discrimination based on denial of benefits -

[RestlessMonkey 7]

Many insurance companies would provide this coverage IF the purchaser pays for it. In other words, hypothetically, Company B wants insurance for it's employees. However, to keep costs down it can adjust things. For example, it can have a higher deductible, higher "Out of pocket costs" for employess...it can opt to have a lower lifetime maximum...and it can EXCLUDE certain things. Since weight loss surgery is considered an ELECTIVE surgery then it is often excluded and it is not illegal to do so.

You'd have to sue your employer for picking the insurance that didn't cover WLS.

Ins. has a right to deny certain things...surgeries or therapies that don't have a high success rate aren't necessarily covered, either.

So I can see why it's omitted from some policies. Tell your employer you want the coverage, that's a better place to start.