Blue Cross Blue Shield In Other States– Bariatric Surgery Insurance Coverage
Reading this page will give you an overview of insurance coverage with Blue Cross Blue Shield companies outside of Alabama and how to verify your benefits. The information on this page assumes that you have researched the basics of your insurance policy, so we will only be covering specific issues associated with an out-of-state plan.
If you have not done so already, we suggest that you visit the Blue Cross Blue Shield Alabama page to learn more about Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance coverage options.
Blue Cross Blue Shield is a network of individual insurance companies across all 50 states and serving almost 1/3 of all Americans. While they share a name, they are in fact separate local companies with individual requirements. However, because of their affiliation, we are able to accept Blue Cross Blue Shield plans from many states other than Alabama. Patients from the following states routinely take advantage of their local Blue Cross Blue Shield plan to have bariatric surgery with us
- Florida
- Georgia
- South Carolina
- North Carolina
- Tennessee
- Mississippi
- Louisiana
- California
If you are considering using your out-of-state Blue Cross Blue Shield plan at Surgical Association of Mobile, the most important consideration is to ensure that bariatric surgery is a covered benefit. This will be stated in the coverages or exclusions section of your plan’s documentation. You may also call your local BCBS insurance company or our office to learn more about your coverages and verify benefits. We are most likely in-network, however, you should verify this with our office or your insurance company.
The process for pre-approval and, ultimately, making a claim on your policy is very similar to if you had an in-state Blue Cross Blue Shield Alabama policy. We process most claim paperwork on your behalf, however you will be responsible for complying with pre-op requirements as stipulated by your plan.
Oftentimes, out-of-state patients are able to get their diagnostic, pre-op testing performed in their local area and can have the results sent to us. If out of area patients require testing here in Mobile, we do our very best to schedule all of the tests around the same time, so patients experience the least amount of disruption.
It is important to note that as with any insurance plan, individual plans and even groups will have varying coverages and benefits. This means that your out-of-pocket expenses may be very different from another patient that had the same procedure at the same facility. We will always endeavor to give you an accurate estimate of your out-of-pocket expenses when accounting for insurance considerations.
Those who do not have insurance or whose insurance does not cover bariatric surgery may take advantage of financing or cash pay pricing offered by our affiliated hospitals to reduce the out-of-pocket expense associated with surgery.