Is My Facelift Covered by Insurance?

When researching cosmetic surgery options, many patients wonder if health insurance will pay for all or some surgical expenses.

Typically, the cost of facelift surgeries are not covered by insurance.

For a surgery to be covered by health insurance, there usually needs to be a functional issue that can be addressed surgically after all available conservative and non-surgical options have been attempted.

There are some facial plastic surgery procedures that can have functional improvements with secondary cosmetic improvements, such as rhinoplasty.

However, facelift surgery unfortunately rarely falls into this category.

Many of the patients who are interested in a facelift are concerned about their jowls, descended midface soft tissues, and excessive neck skin. For these patients, the type of facelift we would typically recommend is the deep plane facelift.

There are not any common functional issues that arise from the areas addressed during a facelift surgery that would prompt an insurance company to cover the surgery.

Which Facial Plastic Surgery Can Be Covered by Insurance?

In some cases, a brow lift and/or blepharoplasty can be covered by insurance companies. This happens when a patient’s visual fields are affected by heavy and redundant upper eyelid skin.

Once a patient undergoes the necessary eye tests to demonstrate this, the cosmetic surgery can be covered by an insurance company.

Additionally, some components of a rhinoplasty may be covered if patients have nasal breathing issues.

However, this type of rhinoplasty typically will not alter the appearance of the nose and instead focuses on straightening and/or strengthening the nasal airway.

Payment Options if Insurance Won’t Cover Surgery

Committing to plastic surgery requires a significant investment from patients in terms of both time and financial resources.

Many patients contemplate having surgery for years before undergoing a procedure. And they spend a significant amount of time exploring whether they are a good candidate for facelift surgery.

At The Plastic Surgery Center at Williams, we offer payment plans including CareCredit and credit card payments.

Patients also have the ability to make small payments until they can fully fund their surgery.

This is a great option for our patients who may be tempted to spend the extra money sitting in their savings account and would benefit from the “out of sight, out of mind” philosophy.

Motivation Can Determine Insurance Coverage

In general, the best way to determine if an insurance company will cover any surgery is to ask yourself, “what is your true motivation for pursuing the surgery?”

If your desire for surgery is primarily to change your appearance, there is a high likelihood that your insurance company will not cover the procedure.

If your primary concern is a functional issue, such has nasal breathing concerns or vision impairment, then there is a chance that your insurance company may cover the surgery, depending on further evaluations and tests.

Unfortunately, as the years go by, it becomes increasingly more difficult to obtain insurance coverage for patients that have a legitimate functional issue.

Schedule a Consultation

If you have an issue, either functional or cosmetic, that you would like to discuss with our specialized plastic surgeons, contact us today to schedule a consultation.