Weight Loss Surgery Insurance Secrets

Weight loss surgery can change your life, but it can be difficult to find coverage. You can lose a significant amount of weight and live with the results for years before you consider undergoing surgery. Then, it's time to consider your options. There are a few different types of coverage. Here's a look at the most common:

Medicare Supplement Insurance vs. Medicare Part D Insurance vs. State Health Care Program vs. Private Insurance vs. Your Responsibility: As with any health care plan, there are many options and choices in terms of coverage and pricing. You should learn what is out there for you as a patient and what you need to know before making your next weight loss surgery insurance secrets shopping decision. Medicare is the easiest to understand; all you need to know are the basic facts and your doctor's contact information. Private insurance programs and state health care plans cover much differently.

What To Expect: Before surgery, your insurance company may offer to pay for part or all of the surgery. This is a nice benefit if your budget won't allow for all of the expense. In most cases, it is also a good idea to know exactly what you will get paid for in the event that the surgery does not work. Insurance companies typically have a policy on how much they will pay out, so make sure you ask about this when making your weight loss surgery insurance secrets shopping decision.

Short Term Disability Insurance vs. Long Term Disability Insurance: Another important consideration is how long you can be hospitalized. Most hospitals today allow you to get up to 12 weeks of inpatient care after the surgery. But many bariatric centers also offer outpatient services including weight loss surgery insurance secrets that can help cover your expenses longer than the short term. If you decide to use this option, make sure you are aware of any limitations.

Who Can Use Your Savings: Another benefit of bariatric weight surgery insurance secrets is who you can bring into the medical facility. Bariatric centers do not offer any comprehensive coverage. They simply provide coverage for specific people, like people who need help losing large amounts of weight or for people with health issues that prevent them from safely losing weight. If you have one of these limitations, you will have to get additional coverage.

Who Can Use Your Savings: There are several restrictions on who can use your money, too. Bariatric surgery is usually covered for a specific number of months. After that time, you will have to get additional coverage. Bariatric surgeons only have the authority to charge your insurance company a small percent of what their actual charges were. You will have to submit detailed reports of your final results to your doctor, which can help your insurance company to determine whether they will approve your claim.

Who Can't Use Your Savings: Just as there are restrictions on who can get weight loss surgery, there are also restrictions on who can't get surgery. If you have mental health problems that keep you from leading a normal life, you will be disqualified from surgery. Similarly, if you have certain health conditions, such as diabetes, cancer, or heart disease, you cannot be put on surgery. Even if you think you meet all of these requirements, your insurance company might still not cover the entire cost of bariatric surgery. Bariatric surgeons can usually only treat patients who meet a certain set of criteria, and these standards change depending on your location and the desires of the surgeon.

Who Can Get Money Out of Your Insurance Company: Only some people qualify to have surgery under the insurance company's guidelines. Usually, your BMI must be 40 or over for seven years. As well, your health condition must be serious enough to prevent you from another weight-loss surgery in the future. People who do not have serious conditions are more likely to be able to get money out of their insurance company's purse. However, sometimes companies deny coverage based on age, so if you have had weight-loss surgeries in the past few years you may want to talk to your doctor about qualifying for the maximum medical exclusion. You should also keep in mind that even if your doctor says you are medically eligible for bariatric surgery, you may still not qualify, especially if you have sleeping area.