Dr. Andrew Hargroder & BLIS To Offer Employers Innovative Program To Battle Obesity

Aug. 18, 2011 - PRLog -- With obesity affecting a reported 33% of the American population, employers and healthcare providers are joining forces to battle the growing epidemic. Dr. Andrew Hargroder recently announced a partnership with BLIS to build an all-inclusive price for weight loss surgery.

“Rising healthcare costs have every employer analyzing their healthcare expenditures,” stated Dr. Andrew Hargroder. “Creating a program where employers have a fixed package price for the entire cost of weight loss surgery makes sense. If employers know exactly what they will be paying for an employee’s surgery and don’t have to worry about the potential costs of an adverse event, they can analyze the outcomes and see the true cost-benefit of this surgery.”

Dr. Andrew Hargroder and BLIS’ partnership have helped bring the BLISNet Network to the SE Louisiana area. BLISNet was established to provide employers that self-fund medical benefits with a cost-effective solution to offering weight loss surgery to their employees. The BLISNet Product provides the employer a pre-negotiated, fixed, transparent and all inclusive bundled price for each of the three primary types of laparoscopic bariatric surgery – adjustable gastric banding, gastric bypass (Roux-en-Y) and sleeve gastrectomy. Included in the price for each procedure is the BLISCare complication protection product that protects payors against exposure to potential substantial claim costs.

“Aligning with BLIS to bring BLISNet to the SE Louisiana marketplace shows our commitment to providing high quality healthcare in our community,” said Dr. Andrew Hargroder, who has successfully performed more than 2,000 weight loss surgeries. “Weight loss surgery can be a lifesaving tool for so many patients and providing avenues for access will help not only the patients who need it in our community, but save money for those employers interested in investing in their employees futures.”

It is estimated that 20% of employer related healthcare costs are related to obesity. Weight loss surgery is a proven treatment in the fight against obesity. The payback for 100% of the covered laparoscopic procedures is reported to be two years, based solely on savings from future medical costs. Additional savings can include workers compensation, disability, paid days off, replacement training, and increases in productivity which all can shorten the payback time even further. By including the BLIS complication protection in the package price of weight loss surgery, employers can be confident that their costs are fixed and backed up by a highly rated, licensed insurance company.

Dr. Hargroder will be performing surgeries under this Program at St. Elizabeth Hospital in Gonzales, Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge and Cypress Pointe Surgical Hospital in Hammond.   “Healthcare is evolving everyday and bringing innovative solutions to patients and employers is one of our top priorities,” explained Dr. Andrew Hargroder. “We look forward to sharing the outcomes of this program with the community in the future and watching lives change for the better.”

To learn more about the collaboration between Dr. Andrew Hargroder and BLIS, please contact Dr. Andrew Hargroder or Bridgette Langlois at 225-743-2333, bridgette@andrewhargrodermd.com, or 1014 W. St. Clare, Ste. 1000 in Gonzales, La.

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BLIS offers financial and insurance products designed to help improve access to surgery. The principal insurance product developed by BLIS is called BLISCare™, an innovative and proprietary product that insures surgeons for complication related care.