Is cosmetic surgery covered by health insurance?
February 21, 2009 by glenda
Filed under Cosmetic Surgery
I'm trying to find out if cosmetic surgery (tummy tuck, lipo, breast aug) is covered by Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Illinois. Anyone have any info on this?
Most times cosmectic procedures are considered an elective surgery or not medically necessary, meaning that you as the patient have chosen to have it versus your doctor requiring that you have it.
Your insurer may cover it if your doctor requires it for health reasons such as gastric bypass if you are significantly obese or reconstructive breast surgery after a mastectomy.
If you do not have a health condition, then you will have to finance the elective surgery yourself. Your policy will have a section on "Exclusions and Limitations" which list procedures not covered by the insurer.
If you are in the process of selecting a policy, you should be able to get a sample before you purchase which you can then review and see what may not be covered.
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probably not because they do not cover all the other real medical expenses.
i don't think any other company covers cosmetic surgery either.
References :
Most times cosmectic procedures are considered an elective surgery or not medically necessary, meaning that you as the patient have chosen to have it versus your doctor requiring that you have it.
Your insurer may cover it if your doctor requires it for health reasons such as gastric bypass if you are significantly obese or reconstructive breast surgery after a mastectomy.
If you do not have a health condition, then you will have to finance the elective surgery yourself. Your policy will have a section on "Exclusions and Limitations" which list procedures not covered by the insurer.
If you are in the process of selecting a policy, you should be able to get a sample before you purchase which you can then review and see what may not be covered.
References :
Insurance agent
Nope. No one covers "volunteer" procedures.
Breast reconstruction – like after a mastectomy – is covered. But if you want a boob job, save your money.
References :
agent, 21+ years
Cosmetic Surgery is generally not covered by any insurance in any state.
There is another alternative to paying full price if you are still looking to having it done. Ameriplan is a discount health benefits company that has been in business for 16 years and even though the are not insurance, they can help you save money on your cosmetic surgery should you find a provider in your area (or where you'd be willing to travel to have it done.)
You can check out the plans as well as the listing of providers in Illinois. I did briefly check and there are 30 pages of cosmetic surgeons listed in the state of Illinois. So depending upon which part you live it, there most likely should be providers available.
I have been with Ameriplan for over 2 years and actually have quite a few members on the plan who live in Florida and use it for cosmetic surgery reasons.
The website to check it all out is http://www.mybenefitsplus.com/40398854
Let me know if you have any specific questions. But hopefully this will be able to help you out a bit!
Good Luck!
References :
Nope – it's not covered. Insurance is for unexpected injuries and illnesses…..and maternity which may or may not be expected.
Jeff
References :
16+ yrs experience – http://www.InsurancePickle.com