Does insurance pay for facial cosmetic surgery? Insurance coverage for facial cosmetic surgery depends on whether the surgery is purely cosmetic or if there is a medical reason for the procedure. Ever wonder...
Ever wonder how some people are able to pay for facial cosmetic surgery? Depending on the procedure it can be a very costly venture. Did you know that in some cases facial cosmetic surgery can be covered by insurance?
"Some of the procedures are covered by insurance. In fact, many of them are covered by insurance. Keep in mind that facial plastic surgery or facial cosmetic surgeries are different procedures. Half the field is purely cosmetic and the other half is reconstructive. For example, the cosmetic things might be a facelift, which typically is not covered; however, there are exceptions to that," said Charles M. Boyd in an M.D., M.B.A., and F.A.C.S. He has been a plastic surgeon for more than 13 years.
Most people view facial cosmetic surgery as a purely aesthetic practice it is not the case. "I just recently did a case where a woman had a stroke on one side of her face and that side was drooping and asymmetrical relative to the other side. So I did essentially a semi facelift just on one side and that was covered by her insurance," Boyd said.
"Some of the other things could be rhinoplasty, which is nose surgery. If you have a functional obstruction where you can't breathe out of your nose, you can have surgery on your nose and many times that can be paid for by insurance, sometimes completely, sometimes partially. And the other big area is blepharoplasty, which is upper eyelid surgery when your eyes begin to droop severely, it can actually impair your vision and that can also be covered by your insurance," Boyd said.
"Part of my practice involves reconstructive surgery and most of that is from skin cancer. There are people that had cancer on their face and had someone (a dermatologist or surgeon or myself) remove a part of the face or the nose or the cheek or the eyelids and that area now needs to be reconstructed. Insurance will pay for that as well," Boyd said.
Generally, to get facial cosmetic surgery covered by your insurance the procedure must be declared medically necessary. Before you decide to have facial cosmetic surgery it would be best to talk to your physician to find if the procedure is needed to improve physical health of functioning. Also consult your insurance to verify the coverage of the procedure. Sometimes insurance companies will cover it, but only in part.
If your insurance company denies your first request do not give up. Refer to your policy book to make sure that your procedure is not excluded from coverage. You can continue with an appeal to the company. You can write in a letter asking for reconsideration and it is helpful to have a doctor to do the same on your behalf. In some cases persistence pays off and people are able to get the insurance company to reverse their decision.
For those whose insurance will not cover the facial cosmetic surgery there are other options available. Although most places want payment for the procedure beforehand or at the time, there are some places that will work with you. Many places will accept credit cards. Still others may be willing to work out a financing plan.
