Obamacare Denying Patients Access to Bariatric Surgery

ALPHARETTA, Ga. - June 10, 2013 - PRLog -- One of the key components of the ACA is a mandate that state health exchanges cover a set of healthcare service categories it has defined as Essential Health Benefits (EHB).  Categories include ambulatory patient services, prescription drugs, and chronic disease management among others.

However, concerns over whether a uniform set of benefits could be too expensive in some states and a reluctance  of the federal government to be seen making mandatory rules  for all states, the US Department of Health and Human Services decided to match benefits to the most popular small group plan sold in each state, reflecting local competitive forces. This lead to obesity treatments not being covered in plans sold on the exchanges.

There is a real geographic disparity and it is sad to say that many of the states expected to exclude obesity treatments can be found in the South, where the highest rates of obesity can be found. The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) is working very hard to change this equation so that all people with obesity, regardless of what state you reside in, can have access to evidence-based prevention and treatment programs.

It is expected 23 states will have obesity treatments including Metabolic and Bariatric surgery as a part of its EHB, of those five will also cover weight loss programs. However, 27 states and Washington D.C. currently have no plans to include it.

States such as Arkansas, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama will not require the plans to cover any kind of treatments for weight loss, whether by prescription drugs or Bariatric surgery. It has previously been reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that Mississippi has the highest obesity rate in the US of 34.9%.

Dr. John Morton, the ASMBS Secretary-Treasurer, said we believe that with more focus on obesity, there will be better access to evidence-based solutions like surgery, now and tomorrow.

Prevention and Screening alone cannot solve the obesity crisis, nor can surgery or other stand-alone interventions.

The future solution will be a continuum of care, complementary to the many challenges of obesity. The sooner we marry prevention and intervention, the sooner we will be able to save more lives and turn back the twin epidemic of obesity and diabetes, an epidemic that is spiraling out of control.

To learn more about surgical treatments for weight loss, please visit www.advancelapmd.com or call (678) 333-3584.