Does health insurance cover cosmetic surgery?

For elective cosmetic surgery, plan on paying yourself. This is a deciding-stage question, and getting the answer wrong means discovering the bill after the operation.

What the publishers say

The Cleveland Clinic says insurance rarely covers the cost of elective cosmetic surgery and procedures. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons says the same about one procedure in particular: most health insurance plans do not cover facelift surgery or its complications, but many plastic surgeons offer patient financing plans, so be sure to ask.

The part that is easy to miss

Read the facelift sentence again. It covers the surgery and its complications. For a facelift, a plan that does not pay for the operation may also not pay to treat what goes wrong afterward, so the cost you plan for should include that possibility.

Where financing fits

Financing is the sourced alternative. The society's advice is to ask, and the cheapest time to ask is at the consultation, before you have committed to a date. Ask what a plan covers and whether it extends to complications.

The change that would alter your answer

The word rarely is not never. Your own plan decides your own case, and only your insurer can tell you what it says. Get that answer in writing before you schedule.

The question that usually follows

Once coverage is settled, the next question is what the operation costs. The American Society of Plastic Surgeons publishes a page on breast augmentation cost, and the NHS has an overview of cosmetic procedures. Compare what they publish with the quote you receive in the Syracuse area, and ask the office to explain every difference.