August 26, 2006

What is gastric bypass insurance?

Gastric bypass insurance is any insurance that covers the cost of gastric bypass surgery. Today, most insurance companies will cover the cost of gastric bypass surgery as long as it is deemed medically necessary for the health of the patient. However, it frequently happens that an initial application for gastric bypass insurance will be denied. When that happens, simply reapply for gastric bypass insurance coverage. Frequently, the application is approved on resubmission.

Gastric bypass insurance covers the cost of gastric bypass surgery. Gastric bypass surgery is a permanent method of weight loss wherein the patientís stomach is reduced drastically in size. This causes the patient to fill full quickly after eating only small amounts of food. This, in turn, results in dramatic weight loss. Gastric bypass surgery is usually recommended only for patients that need to lose one-hundred or more pounds of excess weight.

If you have decided that gastric bypass surgery is a viable method of weight loss for you, you will want to make sure you have gastric bypass insurance. One of the ways to do this is to secure health insurance before planning and scheduling the operation. An excellent way to find good, comprehensive gastric bypass insurance is by searching the internet.

For example, at mostchoice.com you can fill in their on-line application form and receive rate quotes from over 140 insurance companies. In addition, Medicaid will provide gastric bypass insurance coverage if the patientís weight is a contributing factor to life threatening diseases such as diabetes, sleep apnea, and/or high blood pressure. In the case of Medicaid, a primary care physician must make the referral to the gastric bypass surgeon. Also, the surgeon must be a registered Medicaid provider.

When selecting health insurance coverage make sure you read the insurance companyís fine print. Some health insurance companies list gastric bypass surgery as one of their non-covered procedures. If this is the case, you will want to select a different gastric bypass insurance company one that will cover the treatment and let you start a new life, one free from obesity.

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August 18, 2006

What does a gastric bypass cost?

A gastric bypass cost varies from around $20,000 to $35,000. Thatís the bad news. The good news is that sometimes the gastric bypass cost is covered by your insurance company.

Your insurance company may have a couple of prerequisites, though, before it will cover the gastric bypass cost. These prerequisites may include such things as a complete medical physical before the surgery. They many require documented proof that you have tried to loose weight by other recommended diets, i.e. Weight Watchers, Optifast, etc.  The insurance company may also require proof that you have failed to loose weight on a medically supervised diet and examination of your mental capacities showing that you are mentally stable.

This may sound complicated but specialized medical centers, e.g. medical centers that specialize in weight loss programs and plans usually have patient representatives available to assist you in understanding your insurance companies plans and requirements. These patient representatives can walk you through the legal maze of your insurance coverage and help you determine if your insurance company will cover the gastric bypass cost. They can also help you determine if you have a co-pay or a deductible to meet before the insurance company pays the gastric bypass cost.

Although initially the gastric bypass cost may seem high when you consider the cost of obesity in terms of long-term health care problems the cost does not seem as high. For example, gastric bypass surgery and the long term weight loss that is the result of such surgery usually results in the elimination of such medical problems as high blood pressure, sleep apnea, diabetes and high cholesterol.  When the costs of medicating and treating such health problems over the lifetime of the patient are calculated the gastric bypass cost no longer seems excessive.

For the obese patient who has tried everything and failed to loss weight, the gastric bypass cost is a small price to pay for a lifetime free from obesity and its related healthcare problems.

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