Scan Medical Insurance

i have aetna health insurance, and i was wondering?

ok, my aetna says it covers 100% of procedures, and i just have to pay the co-pays. i was thinking about going to mexico (i live in california) and having a gastric LAP-band procedure done. will my insurance pay for it, seeing as how its in another country? by the way, it is not an elective surgery, my insurance says it will pay for bariatric surgery if i have a bmi over 40, which i do. i just need to know if they wont cover it because of where it would done at.

Public Comments

1. Nope. You have to check the "policy territory". Most of the time, it's only going to include YOUR STATE. Insurance is HIGHLY state specific.
2. Generally, a prior approval must be given for bariatric surgery. You should contact Aetna at the customer service number on the back of your card, and ask about the prior approval process. At that time, you can also ask them whether you'd be able to get a prior approval for a surgery in a foreign country. (My gut instinct tells me that it will not be approved for an out of the country provider- generally, a surgery like that would only be approved for an in-network provider. But, you can ask Aetna to confirm.)
3. Call and ask. If they'll cover it here, they may be willing to pay less elsewhere, but I wouldn't put any money on it.