Insurance Denied my Breast Reduction Surgery, How Do I Make a Case for an Appeal?

I tell my patients that the insurance companies are businesses. They are not going to cover a surgery that seems at all to be simply a cosmetic procedure. I also tell my patients to be honest with themselves. They should not expect the insurance company to cover a procedure that is not medically necessary. If the breast reduction surgery for you is needed to relieve back and neck pain or reduce skin rashes along the IMF, you should not have trouble documenting this being a problem for you. Have your family physician, OBGYN, chiropractor, orthopedist, etc. draft a letter designating what your symptoms are and what measures you have done that have been unsuccessful in relieving those symptoms. Have your plastic surgeon take photos and also draft a letter of medical necessity. Most likely, 250 grams is not enough to qualify for a medically based procedure. You need to be more certain that this is all that needs to be removed in order to relieve your symptoms. If you truly have a medically based case and you have been denied, your surgeon can set up a peer to peer review with the insurance company on your behalf. This can be very effective, but only if there is enough evidence to suggest that you really have a medical reason to complete the surgery. 

Thank you for your question,

As you've already seen is very difficult in this day and age to get breast reduction covered through Medical Insurance.  If you're going to appeal your best bet would be to gather supporting information from Physicians in charge of your care who document that breast reduction will indeed be in your medical best interest.

Even in this situation some insurance companies simply do not cover breast reduction as part of their plan. This is likely to be covered in your delineation of benefits.

If ultimately you cannot get Health Insurance to cover this for you many surgeons offer a cosmetic option for breast reduction and even help to set up financing.

 

Good luck.

Thank you for your question.

I am sorry that your insurance company denied authorization.  Each insurance company is different with what they want for approval and their criteria for authorization.

You can try to have your surgeon send an appeal but also include documentation from other doctors you have seen for issues related to the large breasts (ie) chiropractors for back/ shoulder pain, primary care doctor if you have rashes, etc..

Those supporting letters may help.

Good luck.