Financial Options

[Kelli Sims]

My employer chose to exclude treament for obesity. I never really thought about it because until recently I was against any type of bariatric surgery. That was however until my health has been steadily decreasing and now I have no choice, if I dont get this weight off of me I will go blind. (pseudo tumor cerebri) We just bought our house so our credit is maxed out and neither of insurance policies covers. So what am I supposed to do? Any ideas/suggestions? I am scared!

[Littleroo27]

You sound like me!

I'm 26 and don't own anything and my insurance doesn't cover any weight loss surgeries either

I can tell you the steps I've taken - maybe one will work for you.

1) ask your HR department if it is possible to add a rider on to your current insurance policy that will cover the surgery with an increase in premium.

2) e-mail the surgery loan options listed at Dr. Ortiz' website. I was able to get up to $13,000 at a 9.9% fixed interest rate, which is pretty good for someone with no collateral!

3) if you already own a credit card, ask them if it's possible to get approved for a low interest rate / high limit credit card that you can pay off over time. A lot of cards offer 1 year no interest (chase.com), which is awesome if you can pay it off in that amount of time.

4) talk to the bank that you have your mortgage through about adding an additional $10,000 to the existing loan for personal use.

Personally, I ended up getting a 2nd job, which I'm supposed to start next week. I'll be a systems analyst by day and a grocery store bagger by night, lol. That way I will have enough extra cash to pay off the loan. I'm split between taking the $10,000 loan and increasing the limit on my visa card, which has a 7.99% interest rate (obviously better then 9.9%!).

Through a lot of perserverance, I have decided that ANYTHING is possible, as long as you refuse to give up and are willing to work hard enough to get it. I wish you the best of luck. Perhaps we will get banded around the same time I have yet to pick a date as I want to save up some money first and hopefully lose a few lbs.

All the best,

Beth, 26 y/o

San Diego, CA

[PAMMIE]

WTG BETH!!!

[Chelley]

Beth - It sounds like you are very determined! I wish you the best on your journey! I financed my surgery via credit card. My mastercard offered a deal of 5.5% financing over the course of the loan which was much better than anything else I could afford. Keep in mind, as you plan for your procedure to save some money for fills. In my experience, I've found that having surgery is just step one. Step 2 is hitting that sweet spot on a fill. I had surgery April 18th, fill in TJ on June 12, and fill in Paris TX July 10. With plane fare, travel expenses, and cost of surgery and fills my running total is still under $10,000 ... which is unheard of in the USA. Chelley

[Littleroo27]

Beth - It sounds like you are very determined! I wish you the best on your journey! I financed my surgery via credit card. My mastercard offered a deal of 5.5% financing over the course of the loan which was much better than anything else I could afford. Keep in mind, as you plan for your procedure to save some money for fills. In my experience, I've found that having surgery is just step one. Step 2 is hitting that sweet spot on a fill. I had surgery April 18th, fill in TJ on June 12, and fill in Paris TX July 10. With plane fare, travel expenses, and cost of surgery and fills my running total is still under $10,000 ... which is unheard of in the USA. Chelley

I'm very lucky in that I live in San Diego, so I will be able to go back to TJ for fills. Free unless I want the Xray then it's $100. At Scripps it's $495!!!