Health Insurance and Plastic Surgery

Health insurance is vitally necessary in the United States. People have all sorts of medical needs. Sometimes they can afford purchasing the medical services to meet those needs, while other times they cannot. That is why they buy health insurance—to help them meet their costs in case their medical needs become too costly to address.

But insurance companies will not provide money for all medical services. Plastic surgery is one of those services. Plastic surgery is booming in the United States. People are getting facelifts, tummy tucks, breast implants, permanent eyeliner, as well as other surgeries. There are hundreds of thousands of plastic surgery operations every year. The vast majority of these plastic surgery operations are for cosmetic and beautification purposes—they are not medically necessary. As a result, insurance companies do not cover them.

If they were to cover all plastic surgeries, the companies would lose a lot of money because of the large number of plastic surgeries done in the United States. Additionally, the number of plastic surgeries would likely increase somewhat because it would cost significantly less than it would without insurance. For these reasons, insurance companies do not cover most plastic surgeries.

There are exceptions, however, when insurance companies will and do cover plastic surgery. If the plastic surgery operation is a medical necessity then insurance companies will likely cover it. For example, insurance companies may cover:

• Reconstructive nasal surgery if the nose is blocked
• Breast reduction to reduce if there is a need to (such as in the case of increased of breast cancer)
• Removal of birth mark from the face if it constitutes a major cancer risk

Find Out More about What Health Care Will Cover

To find out more information about what health insurance companies will and will not cover and to see which Texas health insurance policies and plans are right for you, contact Option 1 Health Insurance.