Patients Seeking Bariatric Procedures Turn to WISE Rice for Safe, Affordable Care in Paradise

Jan. 7, 2013 - PRLog -- Naples, FL - It is no secret that obesity in the United States has become an epidemic. Over two thirds of Americans are either overweight or obese and this number continues to grow each and every day. So, what viable solutions are in place to help overweight and obese individuals lose weight, achieve a healthy body mass index (BMI), and take back control of their life? What happens when dieting and exercise fall short? Well, the most prevalent solution that overweight and obese individuals consider, when everything else has failed them is bariatric surgery.

Every day thousands of Americans speak with their primary care doctors about how bariatric surgery can help them lose the weight that is robbing them of their health and quality of life and every day those same individuals are often met with opposition from either their doctor or their insurance company. To seek approval from an insurance company, policy holders must first submit a qualifying BMI, a description of obesity-related health conditions, including records of treatment, a detailed description of the limitations obesity places on their daily activities, a detailed history of the results of their dieting efforts, including medically and non-medically supervised programs, a history of exercise programs, including receipts for memberships in health clubs and a nutritional consult and psychological evaluation with documentation.

Here is the kicker, even after this mass of information has been gathered and submitted many policy holders are still not approved for their desired procedure, because insurance companies realize that the cost to cover bariatric procedures that carry an average cost of $30,000 likely will not be justified by the greater level of health and decreased costs associated with losing weight. We won’t even go into the fact that no sound authority feels bariatric procedures will be covered at all by insurance, as the healthcare reform act is fully enacted.

So, what option are overweight and obese individuals left with when their insurance company will not cover their bariatric procedure? What if they have no insurance at all? Who can afford $30,000 out-of-pocket cost for a procedure? Many are finding that a company called WISE, the World Institute of Surgical Excellence, provides not only a viable solution, but a great experience as well.

The World Institute of Surgical Excellence, which operates under the acronym of WISE is a medical tourism company that facilitates every step of their patient’s medical travel process at no additional cost to the patient. WISE has offices located in 50 cities throughout the U.S., as well as an operations team in Costa Rica and Panama, to ensure that their patients receive the quality care and attention that they desire and deserve. WISE bariatric patients are able to have their procedure performed at JCI “Joint Commission International” (the same accrediting body that accredits hospitals in the United States), accredited hospitals with world renowned bariatric surgeons for $11,000, roughly one third of the cost in the U.S., and get to recover in a beautiful, tropical paradise before returning home safely to their family.

WISE bariatric patients are catered to from the moment of first contact all the way through their entire weight loss journey. WISE leaves nothing to chance as they even take care of arranging follow up care and visits, when the patient returns home to ensure that their weight loss goes as planned. They also provide patients the ability to obtain financing to ensure that cost will never prohibit them from getting the procedure they deserve.

To learn more about bariatric options with the World Institute of Surgical Excellence, please contact Dave Rice, WISE Regional Managing Partner at Dave.Rice@WiseMDs.com or by phone at 239-298-3917.