Are you struggling to access obesity treatment due to insurance barriers/exclusions?

Access to Care

Unfortunately, it is too common for insurance companies to deny access or place barriers to receiving evidence-based obesity care. OAC has assembled the following list of actions you can take to gain and advocate for better access:

Understanding Your Insurance Policy

Read about how insurance works and determine what kind of insurance you have in the OAC’s Working with Your Insurance Provider Guide.

Although originally written to help with access to bariatric surgery, this guide contains a good explanation of insurance with content that can be modified to fit any obesity treatment.

Share Your Access Issues with the OAC

Share your access issue with the OAC Access to Care Committee using the OAC’s Report Issues Form.

OAC’s Access to Care Committee regularly reviews access challenges. The Committee does offer advice in some situations, but not all. All challenges are reviewed. Please share your access issue with us as it helps us understand barriers throughout the country and develop actions to help eliminate such barriers.

Working with Your Healthcare Provider

Stay in contact with your obesity care provider.

Your obesity care provider and their insurance/billing/pre-authorization departments are great resources for information on access challenges (they should also be involved in any appeal). Don’t have a provider yet? Check out OAC’s Obesity Care Provider locator to find one.

Contact Your State Department of Insurance

Contact your State Insurance Commissioner and/or Department of Insurance to share your story/challenge.

Click here to find contact information to file a complaint with this directory from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. Please keep in mind that not all insurance is regulated by the state (see materials in Understanding Your Insurance Policy above), but letting the insurance department know of your challenges is always important!

Reach out to Your Elected Officials

Insurance coverage is highly regulated by both your State and Federal elected officials. OAC strongly urges you to write your elected officials to make them aware of your personal story and the barriers you are facing. You can look-up your elected officials using the OAC Legislative Look-up Tool. Simply follow through the links to reach out to your elected official via web form or through social media. Remember, your story is powerful. Please share it!

OAC is also targeting a number of legislative and policy issues and have pre-created messages you can send to your elected officials. To see the issues and targets, visit the OAC Action Center.

Working with Your Employer

Write your employer to urge coverage of obesity care (if you have employer-based healthcare – see Understanding Your Insurance Policy above).

Unfortunately, coverage of obesity care is not always standard. Employers usually have to opt-in or request such coverage. Sometimes, all it takes is an employee asking for such coverage to be added.

This is an outline of a sample letter requesting bariatric surgery coverage that can be easily modified to reflect any obesity treatment.

If you need additional resources to help populate these letters, OAC’s Fact Sheets on Medical Weight Management and Bariatric Surgery provide great content.

Share Your Challenges on Social Media

Share your access challenges on social media. Social media has changed advocacy. A single tweet or Facebook post can spur action. Consider sending a tweet or posting your story on social media.

When posting to social media, always use respectful language and keep your message clear and concise for others to read. If you have relevant images on hand, you should include one. You can also use hashtags to amplify your message for others to track online. Not sure what hashtags to post with? Try these:

  • #OACAction
  • #STOPtheWaitNow
  • #HealthReform
  • #SpeakforHealth

Here’s a sample tweet:

  • “@FLBlue is denying me access to evidence-based #obesity care. Please join me in urging them to expand access so myself and others can find the #obesitycare we need and deserve. #OACAction #STOPtheWaitNow”

Be a Part of the OAC Community

Join the OAC Community – By becoming part of the OAC Community, you gain access to valuable EDUCATION, community-exclusive content and insightful discussions on weight management and health. You will also have the opportunity to get inspired by REAL stories from others who share your health journey, foster meaningful CONNECTIONS, and take action through ADVOCACY. Sign-up now to become a member of the OAC Community!

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