Mr. Keith

Health Insurance AFTER Gastric Bypass Surgery? Is It Possible?



Posted: Wednesday, October 01, 2008

by
IChooseThin

Gastric bypass surgery and insurance AFTER the surgery is a question that a friend of mine had to have answered and the answer was one that was not a good one.  He had gastric bypass surgery on his spouse's insurance and since then he has had a divorce.  Since he is a private contractor he needed to go out and get some personal health insurance.  He tried at many different places and he was turned down each and every time.  This denial of health insurance was not something anyone ever mentioned and now he has a problem with no solution.

As of now he is ready to give up and accept the fact that as an individual he will not be able to be eligible for individual health insurance.  He is so much healthier because of the weight loss surgery yet he is finding it impossible to receive individual health insurance.

This may be something worth factoring into your decision to have weight loss surgery.  It is one that we have not been able to research on the web because ALL search results only provide information about coverage BEFORE the surgery. 

If you are considering weight loss surgery then you need to ask questions about how your eligibility for health insurance will be affected two, three or ten years down the road.  How will your eligibility be affected if you change insurers?  We hope you ask, before you decide!

 

Keith spends most of his time as a manager in big box retail and when he is not he is tinkering with the internet. Creating websites has become so much more enjoyable than working in big box retail. He gets to write and do the things in life he loves to do!!!
 
http://ichoosethin.com/thinblog/
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Top-level comments on this article: (3 total)
» left by Henry
from pittsburgh, PA 3 years 115 days ago.
This is worth considering. My wife had the gastric bypass 2+ years ago and lost 130 pounds, which is STILL off. Even tho she is much healthier, she is indeed in the position of being self-employed (a change of jobs into private practice) and finding great difficulty buying individual health insurance that will take over when her COBRA coverage ends, about a year from now.
» left by elizabeth dampier from montevallo, al 3 years 78 days ago.
I had gastric bypass surgery in 2004 and lost 230 pounds. No more diabetes, no more hypertension. A very nasty divorce ended my insurance and current unemployment is making it more difficult. I have not been able to find an insurance company that will insure a post gastric bypass patient, even though I am so much healthier. Any suggestions on a company from anyone?
» left by deborah from Miami Florida 3 years 10 days ago.
Aetna is one of the only companies that covers it without a ryder attached. They still will assess the risk and the premium may be outrageous. I know that Blue Cross reconsiders post bariatric patients 5 years post op. It depends really on your current health. I lost 240 pounds post op and was picked up by Aetna in Florida when my cobra ran out. hope that helps.
» left by Karen Little
from Bullard, TX 2 years 223 days ago.
In Texas, we have The Texas Risk Pool, which will accept gastric bypass patients. It is very expensive and the deductibles are extremely high! So unfair! How can insurance companies deny health insurance to GP patients that have lengthened their life and are far healthier than they were before surgery? This makes no sense at all! Discrimination at its worst! We can not afford this...both my husband and I have had GP surgeries. Neither of us knew we would not be accepted in other insurance before our surgery. Bummer.....Any suggestions?
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