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Bill addresses bariatric surgery concerns

Ambulatory Surgery Reimbursement Update, April 11, 2006

Indiana legislators passed a bariatric surgery bill that addresses problems with the state's mandatory insurance coverage law for bariatric surgery, according to the American College of Surgeons' (ACS) monthly state affairs newsletter ACS Cross Country.

The bill, SB 266, made the following changes, according to ACS Cross Country:

• "The protection of the physician in cases where patients cannot be located for tracking purposes" (current law requires monitoring of the patient for five years following the operation)
• "The preservation of the confidentiality of the physician and institution when reporting deaths and complications to the Department of Health"
• "The reduction of the 18-consecutive-month preoperative nonsurgical physician supervised weight loss period to only six months"

The governor signed the bill on March 20 and it goes into effect July 1.

To view the bill, click here.

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