The Complete Guide to Lantern Benefits 

If you’ve been told that weight loss surgery is too expensive, that your insurance won’t cover it, or that you’ll spend years saving up to afford it, we have news that could change everything! 

Hundreds of the largest employers in the United States now offer bariatric surgery as a fully covered, zero-cost benefit through a program called Lantern (formerly known as SurgeryPlus). That means millions of American workers, and their covered family members, may be sitting on a benefit they never knew they had: the ability to have life-changing weight loss surgery with no deductibles, no co-pays, and no out-of-pocket expenses whatsoever. 

At Houston Surgical Weight Loss, we are a designated Lantern Network Provider in Houston, TX, and we help eligible patients use this benefit every single day. This guide explains everything you need to know from what Lantern is, how it works, which employers participate, what procedures are covered, and how to get started. 

Lantern is a national employer-sponsored healthcare platform that specializes in connecting employees with high-quality, credentialed surgical providers at dramatically reduced or completely eliminated costs to the patient.

Lantern has grown into one of the most comprehensive employer surgery benefits programs in the country. Employers partner with Lantern to offer their workforce access to a vetted network of top-tier surgical centers and board-certified surgeons Dr. Irfan Wadiwala. In exchange for routing elective and planned surgeries
through this network, employers are able to dramatically reduce their healthcare costs, and they pass those savings directly on to their employees in the form of zero out-of-pocket costs!

For bariatric surgery specifically, Lantern has become a game-changer. The program covers gastric sleeve surgery, gastric bypass surgery, revisional bariatric procedures, and related care often with no patient cost whatsoever.  This is not a catch. It is a legitimate, fully funded employer benefit! Congratulations!

Here’s the simple version: your employer has pre-negotiated a deal with Lantern. As part of that deal, Lantern has assembled a network of credentialed, highly rated surgical centers and surgeons, like your team here at Houston Surgical Weight Loss. When you use a Lantern Network provider for your covered procedure, the full cost of surgery is paid for by your employer’s plan.

Here’s the simple version: your employer has pre-negotiated a deal with Lantern. As part of that deal, Lantern has assembled a network of credentialed, highly rated surgical centers and surgeons, like your team here at Houston Surgical Weight Loss. When you use a Lantern Network provider for your covered procedure, the full cost of surgery is paid for by your employer’s plan.

1. Your employer enrolls in Lantern as a surgery benefit. This is separate from your regular health insurance. Many employees don’t even know this benefit exists because it doesn’t show up on a standard insurance card.

2. You (and/or a covered dependent) decide to pursue bariatric surgery. You contact Lantern directly at (855)200-2099 or go through our  program at Houston Surgical Weight Loss.

3. Lantern assigns you a dedicated Care Advocate. This is a real person who guides you through the entire process helping you understand your coverage, scheduling your consultations, managing your paperwork, and answering questions from start to finish.

4. ⁠You meet with our Houston Surgical Weight Loss surgeons. Your VIRTUAL or in person consultation, evaluation, and pre-operative workup are all covered.

5. Your surgery is approved and scheduled. Lantern handles the pre-authorization with your employer. The process is typically much faster than traditional insurance most patients go from first consultation to surgery in less than a month or when its most convenient for you – it’s on your timeline! 

6. Facility fees, surgeon fees, anesthesia, and standard post-operative care are all covered.

7. Your bill arrives. It says $0!!!

We understand skepticism. In healthcare, “no cost” almost always comes with an
asterisk. So let’s be specific about what Lantern covers for eligible bariatric surgery
patients:

Surgeon fees — Covered
o Surgical facility fees — Covered
o Anesthesia — Covered
o Pre-operative testing and lab work — Covered
o Post-operative follow-up visits — Covered
o Your deductible* -- Does not apply
o Your co-pay — Does not apply
o Your co-insurance — Does not apply

For the vast majority of eligible Lantern bariatric patients, the total cost for a gastric sleeve or gastric bypass surgery, procedures that would normally cost $15,000 to $25,000 or more, is exactly zero dollars.
***Deductible may apply, Houston Surgical Weight Loss will discuss with you at your initial consult***

This is the question most people ask first and the list is remarkably long, which is also exciting!
Lantern currently works with hundreds of employers across virtually every industry, from major retailers and energy companies to government entities, healthcare systems, and educational institutions. Many of these employers offer bariatric surgery as either a fully included benefit or through what Lantern calls a “Carve-Out” which is a dedicated bariatric benefit that sits alongside the employer’s main health plan.
Below is a comprehensive list of employers whose employees and covered dependents may be eligible for no-cost bariatric surgery through the Lantern benefit. If you or a covered family member works for any of these organizations, contact us today to verify your eligibility.