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MCAC study lauds successful results of bariatric surgery

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, November 9, 2004

The Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee has apparently taken the recommendations of a report published by the HHS' Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, as well as a study conducted by the Journal of the American Medical Association, to heart regarding the benefits of surgical treatment of obesity.

Updating a story about the AHQR report that ran in the October 19 issue of Ambulatory Surgery Regulatory Update, the MCAC has concluded that significant evidence exists to support open and laproscopic weight loss surgery as a safe and effective way to help patients lose weight, consequently improving weight-related conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

According to the online PR Newswire, the MCAC reviewed more than 130 separate studies of the safety and success rate of weight loss surgery, studies which included more than 22,000 patients. The MCAC's findings, while a supportive sign for the bariatric care industry, do not signal any imminent change in Medicare policy. They will, however, be a favorable voice to factor in when the American Society for Bariatric Surgery submits a request to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services for a new National Coverage Decision in the months to come.

"We are pleased that the MCAC panel has so decisively affirmed the safety and effectiveness of open and laproscopic weight loss surgery," sais ASBS President Harvey Sugerman, MD, "and we look forward to working with Medicare to help them provide the best coverage and gather the best data on individuals 65 and older, without limiting the access to care for people who are morbidly obese."

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