Medicare to cover gastric bypass surgery
There has been an ongoing debate about the coverage of some plastic surgery procedures by a health insurance providers and Medicare. While many procedures are purely cosmetic in nature, some like gastric byass surgery or breast reduction often fall into the category of “medically necessary.” Unfortunately, greedy insurance companies have refused to pay for them or give patients a very hard time before they do it.
In a reversal of policy, Medicare now says that it will pay for obesity surgery for disabled patients (younger than 65). There is no doubt that bariatric surgery is risky, but it is also the only alternative for hundreds of thousands of people who cannot lose weight by simply dieting and exercising.
So what is the requirement that one can get Medicare to pay for your obesity surgery? You should be able to demonstrate that you have at least one obesity-related health condition and everything else has failed for you. Plus, you may not be able to go to a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon. On the other hand, in all respects you would be operated upon like any other surgery patients in a facility approved by Medicare.
Will American insurers change their policies? No one knows. While some do listen to the needs of their customers, most just make it too hard without necessarily denying it to them directly.
Recommended article: How to pay for cosmetic surgery when your insurance does not cover it?
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