Bariatric Surgery Insurance: Financial support for patients
Many people opt for bariatric weight loss surgery for morbid obesity. But the truth is that financing weight loss surgery is not at all easy. However, there are some insurance company and financial lenders that provides financial help to people for covering their bariatric surgery expenses. Despite of this, there are some criteria that patient need to fulfill in order to avail bariatric surgery insurance.
Not all types of bariatric procedures are covered by the insurance. Many insurance companies not provide coverage for gastric sleeve or
duodenal switch surgery. There are several factors that are considered before providing insurance coverage to patients. Actually, bariatric surgery or any other type of weight loss surgery is only recommended to patient when they totally failed in their attempt of losing weight through dieting or exercise. Thus, an insurance company requires some information before approval of bariatric surgery insurance coverage:
- Patient current height, weight and BMI
- Full details of patient medical history
- Medically recommended diet history
- Physiological clearance & evaluations
- Medical records containing history of morbid obesity and medical tests
- List of weight loss co-morbidities like high blood pressure, diabetes, sleep apnea etc
Beside above factors, criteria for availing insurance coverage varies depending upon the type of bariatric surgery, state, insurance policy, surgeon performing the surgery and place where the surgery is being performed. Overall, there are many insurance companies that pay up to 80% of the cost of bariatric surgery.
Insurance companies like Medicare and Medicaid provide bariatric surgery insurance coverage for various procedures including Roux-en-Y, gastric bypass, adjustable band surgery and Biliopancreatic diversion with duodenal switch depending upon the medical condition of the patient.
Suppose, you are not getting approval for the bariatric surgery insurance, you can further consult with your surgeon. In many case, your surgeon approval about the necessity of patient with the medical records help you in getting approval for the insurance. Many hospitals also cover insurance scheme for their patients.