Well... honestly I'm doing this blog because it's for my english comp 2 class. I probably wouldn't be doing it otherwise. I'm writing a research paper for my class on gastric bypass and the fact that it should be covered by all insurance companies.
A lil background on this. I had surgery in May of 2007. It honestly was life changing for me. I have lost, well... an entire "healthy" adult. I am extremely grateful for my surgery and the fact that I have basically been given the life that I always wanted. I am 100 times more active and my life is completely different then it would have been had I not had surgery.
For people who can't get surgery because their insurance doesn't cover it, it's one of the most defeating things. They have finally come to the extremely difficult decision to take the step to get surgery only to be shot down by their insurance company. By the time you come to the decision to get surgery you are basically at the end of your rope. I often have equated it to an addict finally hitting "rock bottom". You have no where else to go and you have nothing left to try and this is really what you see as the final option to getting your life back. To get to that point only to be turned away by your insurance is one of the most dissappointing things in the world and honestly it's something that shouldn't even be a worry. The cost of NOT getting the surgery for many people is way higher. There is the potential of developing diabetes, heart conditions, high chlolosterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, the list goes on and on. Most of these conditions are made better if not completely go away for most gastric bypass patients. Why wouldn't an insurance company want to spend $40-60,000 in order to save far more rather then a lifetime of treating all of the complications that come with being morbidly obese.
Anyway... I've now written a practical book and I'm hoping that I can actually deliver on what I'm proposing for my paper. :)
3 comments:
Deirdrea,
You may not have started a blog on your own, but the tone of this post indicates that you have a blogger in you, just waiting to get out: you have a good mix of knowledge about and passion for your subject.
Amen to that. My father tried to have this surgery, but couldn't afford it and insurance wouldn't pay. And now he has, well, let's look at your list: "There is the potential of developing diabetes, heart conditions, high chlolosterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea, the list goes on and on."
Yep, pretty much all of those. Now the insurance companies are paying more to treat these diseases than if they just paid for the surgery in the first place (he's had two knee replacements since then also).
I'm very sorry to hear that your father has had all of those extra complications because of not being able to have surgery. I'm know for a fact that he is not the only one in that situation. It seems that the only options are to either take out a loan big enough to buy a REALLY nice car and take for ever to pay it back or to deal with all of the extra problems that will arise from excess weight.
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