Could Insurance Companies Be Set To Ease Funding On Gastric Bypass Surgery?

Question any weight loss surgeon about whether gastric bypass surgery lowers a patient's risk of early death and he will tell you without any hesitation that it does. Indeed, he will probably be surprised that you have posed the question at all since surgeons have known for years that weight loss surgery extends a patient's life.

but, put that same question to a range of insurance companies and you may well get a different answer because, until very recently, in spite of the fact that there has been plenty of anecdotal evidence for what everyone knows to be the position, there has been no hard, concrete numerical proof.

Now however the results of 2 studies have clearly demonstrated in numerical terms that gastric bypass surgery has a significant effect on the mortality of those concerned.

In the first study, a multi-center American study involving 16,000 patients who were followed over a 7 year period, long-term mortality fell by as much as 40 percent. additionally a second Swedish study involving some 4,000 patients demonstrated a 29 percent fall in mortality.

For a long time now insurance companies have sought to put obstacles in front of patients to prevent them from claiming for weight loss surgery and this has been gaining momentum in recent years as the number of obesity operations being carried out has risen dramatically and weight loss surgery has become more and more accepted with a number of celebrities such as Al Rocker, Carnie Wilson, Star Jones and others undergoing the procedure.

The insurance companies however have stuck rigidly to the position that gastric bypass surgery ought only to be used as a last resort and that every possible attempt to lose weight through exercise and diet, including if necessary the use of medication, should be exhausted before weight loss surgery can be approved. additionally, they have also stuck to the line that gastric bypass surgery can only finally be carried out if weight presents a risk to life.

For many people this stance by the insurance companies is seen as being quite ridiculous and a position which they have clearly adopted simply to save the insurance company money. Nevertheless, despite this point of view, the insurance companies have gotten away with this for years now because it has been impossible to show in terms of facts and figures that gastric bypass surgery is not just a convenient and relatively easy way to lose weight but is the only option open to many obesity sufferers and an option that will not only improve their quality of life but literally extend their lives, often quite significantly.

For years overweight individuals have battled with their weight and, while some people have had very limited success, most people (and certainly those who need to lose more than 80 pounds) have discovered that diet and exercise quite simply does not work. Despite this fact, they have had no choice and doctors have been forced to lead them down this path because of the stance of the insurance companies.

Perhaps at long last the insurance companies will be forced to face up to their responsibility in this area and at last put the needs of their policyholders before those of their shareholders.

By: Donald Saunders

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