My Year-Long Struggle to Convince My Health Insurance to Pay for Gastric Bypass Surgery

The following article was written by a reader who wanted to share her experiences in getting her health insurance policy to cover weight loss surgery. For privacy reasons, her name is not included.

For tips on dealing with health insurance companies, see "The Cost of Gastric Bypass Surgery."

"It can be hard to get your health insurance company to see from your point of view..."

With so many people who suffer from obesity dying every day, it is hard to see why a lot of health insurance companies reject care plans that include gastric bypass surgery. The health problems that arise from being overweight must cost them much more than the surgery itself, so it is difficult to see why some companies choose not to pay for it.

In my case, I had a long fight ahead of me if I wanted to take advantage of my insurance policy and get surgery as well.

When I visited my doctor for the first real time after completing college, I found that I had a host if issues that came from my being overweight. I had heart and breathing problems as well as issues with my bones and joints. I had to get referred to various specialists who would set me on treatment plans in order to deal with the pain and dangers of these health problems.

I was seeing a cardiologist, an orthopedic specialist and my primary care physician. I even had to go see a rheumatologist in order to deal with the arthritis that was developing in my joints. My schedule filled up quickly and I was put on all kinds of different medications.

When my doctor first told me about gastric bypass surgery, I was very excited. I had no luck with diets or other plans and medications that all promised to help me lose weight. I didn't see the light at the end of the tunnel until my doctor told me about this surgery.

We submitted the paperwork to my insurance company. We were very optimistic about the things that could come of this surgery. I did not get a response right away, but when I did I was very disappointed. It seemed that my insurance had no problem paying for all of the specialists that I needed, but they refused to pay for the elective surgery that I thought I needed.

It took me a year to convince the company that this would really save both of us money. I wrote appeals letters and even had an interview with some of the higher up members of the company. I had to show them all of my records that indicated the numerous medical problems that I had and were related to being overweight.

It got to be quite annoying, but I didn't give up. I continued to write them weekly and call them almost daily until I had finally proved my point. At the end of the battle, the insurance company finally approved the surgery. I was ecstatic in the fact that I would finally get the chance that I thought would help me lose weight.

It can be hard to get your health insurance company to see from your point of view. They do not want to spend money that they don't need to, so they are probably always on the lookout for things that could be considered unneeded or elective. It is important that you not give up until you get the health care that you feel that you need.

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To read personal stories submitted by gastric bypass patients, visit After Gastric Bypass - Personal Experiences.