There's no more common question among persons considering weight reduction surgery than "Does my insurance cover this operation?"

In most cases, the answer is "Yes!" If you suffer extreme or morbid obesity and surgery is medically appropriate (that is, you are in good enough health for the operation), most insurance plans will pay. You do not need special bariatric insurance coverage to pay for weight loss surgery.

The way most bariatric insurance coverage works is very straightforward.

After you have discussed your options with your doctor and you and your doctor agree that bariatric surgery is right for you, the first thing you do is to speak with the insurance specialist at the clinic that will perform the procedure.

The insurance specialist will ask you for a copy of your insurance card. Your surgeon will write a "letter of necessity" to your insurance company, stating all the reasons your bariatric surgery is medically necessary. This letter usually states that every other possible way of losing weight has been tried, and failed.

Before the letter is submitted to your insurer, you will have lab tests to make sure that your health will not be put at risk by the procedure. The letter is forwarded to the insurance company with the lab results for "preauthorization."

This process of pre-approval sometimes takes days, sometimes takes weeks, and can take months.

Here's what you need to know if the answer to "Does insurance cover weight loss surgery?" is "No."

If your insurance company denies preauthorization, you still have several options.

The first step would be to appeal the denial.

If your appeal is not granted, you may request an outside reviewer to help you with your request.

As a last resort, there are some legal firms that specialize in helping patients get approval for weight loss surgery. Also, some patients have switched their insurance to a different company.

Fortunately, the appeals process is seldom needed. Every insurance company is different, but almost all eventually approve bariatric surgery. As soon as your surgery is pre-authorized, your date with the doctor can be set.