Gastric Bypass Surgery Makes you live LONGER!

Researchers in Sweden and the United States separately found that obese people who underwent drastic surgery had a 30 percent to 40 percent lower risk of dying seven to 10 years later compared with those who did not have such operations.

Long-term studies of Gastric Bypass Surgery show that gastric bypass surgery not only lead to lasting weight loss but also dramatically improve survival. The results are expected to lead to more such operations, possibly for less severely obese people, too. Currently most health Insurance plans accepts patoents with BMI of 40, in certain cases only as low as 25 BMI. To calculate your BMI click here.

Research was published in last week New England Journal of Medicine. It should help to explain better the benefits and risks of weight-loss surgery. It might also make it easier to qualify forgastric bypass surgery.

Insurance and Obesity Surgery

The treatment of obesity is a covered benefit under many insurance policies. Coverage depends on what type of policy you have and the terms within the policy.

Each insurance policy can vary greatly, even when issued by the same company. Your employer dictates the coverage in your policy.

Many insurance companies will pay for gastric bypass surgery if you meet certain conditions.

However, many other insurance companies have “Exclusion” clauses for treating obesity. These companies refuse to cover any treatment related to "losing weight." They will only treat the diseases caused by excessive body weight.

Unfortunately, many policies have “Exclusions” written into them. This means that even though the treatment may be “Medically Necessary”, it is not a covered benefit. Patients with BMI below 45 are less likely to get approved.