Does your health insurance cover weight-loss surgery? If you have Medicare, it sure does. But if you’ve got private insurance, even if it’s one of the big companies that you’re covered by, your weight loss surgery probably isn’t going to be covered. And even if it is, there are strict regulations as to who can get weight loss surgery under an insurance plan (including requirements that you be at least 100 pounds overweight). This is a controversial issue because some say that weight loss surgery is a medical need and others say it’s only a cosmetic procedure.
Even those who agree that weight loss surgery such as bariatric surgery should be covered by insurance often say that the strict limitations on who exactly is covered are fair regulations. The argument is that if someone is morbidly obese and has no other options for weight loss, then the surgery should be covered but if they are looking for a cosmetic makeover, they should pay out of their own pockets. And of course many employers are arguing that no one should be covered since adding weight loss surgery to existing plans will increase their premiums.
What do you think? Should any weight loss surgery be covered by your health insurance? Should all of it be covered? And would you be willing to pay higher premiums to reduce the costs of this type of surgery?