Medical Insurance and Plastic Surgery – Will my health insurance cover my plastic surgery?
Many plastic surgery procedures may be eligible for coverage by your medical insurance, provided that they are done for reconstructive purposes. Procedures performed for changes in face and body appearance only are viewed as cosmetic and not covered by insurance. To avoid postoperative confusion and potential economic hardship, every plastic surgery procedure that your plastic surgeon judges to be eligible for insurance coverage must go through a pre-determination process to ascertain whether insurance coverage is available to you. This involves a written letter, complete with photogtrtaphs of the problem, and will take an average of 6 to 8 weeks to get a written response back from your health insurance company.
To qualify for reconstructive plastic surgery, there must be some bodily function that is going to be improved by the operation. Appearance is not generally considered reconstructive unless it is from a congenital birth defect or accidental injury.
The following are some examples of reconstructive surgery and the symptoms that they might improve:
Breast Reduction…….back, shoulder, and neck pain
Abdominal panniculectomy……eliminate chronic skin infections
Skin graft…….heal an open wound
The following are some examples of plastic surgery that are considered cosmetic and not covered by insurance:
Rhinoplasty
Abdominoplasty
Facelift
Liposuction
Breast lift
Arm Lift
Dr Barry Eppley
Indianapolis, Indiana