With weight-loss surgery, type of insurance counts - ThinnerTimes - Gastric Bypass Forum, Lap Band Forum, and Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy Forum

Tess · 06-01-2009, 11:43 PM

Thought this was interesting

With weight-loss surgery, type of insurance counts
Mon Jun 1, 2009 1:40pm EDT

CHICAGO (Reuters) - People with private health insurance lose more weight after having weight-loss surgery than those covered by the Medicare health insurance program for the elderly and disabled, U.S. researchers said Monday.

Medicare patients tend to weigh more before having gastric bypass surgery, they said, and are more likely to be depressed, have high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cholesterol and sleep apnea.

For them to succeed, they may need extra exercise and nutrition support, they said.

"Gastric bypass surgery is very successful so we should work to ensure that everyone has the same chance at success," said Dr. John Morton of Stanford University School of Medicine in California, who presented his findings at the Digestive Disease Week meeting in Chicago.

Gastric bypass surgery is becoming an increasingly popular treatment for obesity. It works by altering the digestive tract to reduce the volume of food that can be eaten and digested.

Large insurance companies and Medicare, the federal health plan for 44 million elderly and disabled Americans, help pay for the surgery -- which costs from $15,000 to $35,000 -- in severely obese people.

For the study, Morton and colleagues collected data on 750 gastric bypass patients with private insurance, Medicare or Medicaid, a state-federal insurance program for the poor.

A year after surgery, all patients had significant weight loss, but the private insurance patients lost more, Morton said in a telephone briefing.

"The Medicare group lost 57 percent of its excess weight, but in comparison with the private insurance group, this was much less, with the private insurance group losing about 82 percent of their extra weight," he said.

The Medicare group had slightly higher complication rates, but there were no deaths from any of the operations.

Morton said patients in the Medicare group had the biggest reductions in levels of low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, the so-called bad cholesterol that causes heart disease.

They also had bigger improvements in fasting insulin, a measure of diabetes severity.

Morton said patients in the Medicare group started out much heavier than other patients, with average body mass index scores of nearly 50, putting them in the so-called super-obese category.

Body mass index, or BMI, is a formula that takes into account a person's height and weight. A BMI of 30 is considered obese. People with a BMI of 40 to 49 are considered morbidly obese, while those with a BMI of 50 or higher are considered super obese.

Morton said the study shows that some Medicare patients are starting with more profound disadvantages, and may need more support.

He said morbid obesity is the leading public health crisis in the United States, and bariatric surgery is the only effective treatment for many patients.

Ms. Readytobehealthy · 06-02-2009, 03:57 AM

Tess - You would not have ever thought it makes a difference on what type of insurance you have on how much weight you lose. Thanks for posting.

Ms. Ready

Tess · 06-02-2009, 09:52 AM

You know , people just cant afford to eat healthy in this country. We make a good living but buying Soy Milk at almost $4.00 a half gallon is ridiculous. I love milk but I am a little lactose intolerant. Id love to buy silk.

I try to eat as much soy, tofu and organic as I possibly can. If you are low income you can forget about it. You would have to take a second morgage out on your home just to afford it. That or move into a tent.

After weight loss surgery there no more running for a bag of chips or the local Micky D's. Theres those expensive protein shakes. Vitamins. Lean meat fish. protien...protene ...protene. Its ashame it really is.

I bet it don't cost anymore to precess tofu then it does Velveeta. How do they justify the high prices on some of this stuff.

UndercoverDiva · 06-02-2009, 11:04 AM

I've noticed that myself, Tess. Organic prices are through the roof! Good cuts of meat are ridiculously priced, too. Pasta is cheap, but we all know what that does. That being said, I still find myself getting upset when I see someone using public assistance to by chips, cookies, sodas, etc., instead of more healthy alternatives. I know it can be done because I've been there. Admittedly, I did buy lots of pastas, but I was able to buy chicken, cheaper cuts of meat (cooked in the crockpot, they came out tender), fruits and veggies on sale, and forego all the junk foods.

Tess · 06-02-2009, 12:54 PM

I know!! Chips and stuff didnt bother me so much. Pop did. when I worked at Walmart
they would come trough my line sometimes with steaks Id have to work all day standing on my feet to be able to buy for myself
It didn't help that I knew I was paying for theirs.. They took money outta my hard earned checks. Used to give me fits

poet_kelly · 06-02-2009, 01:38 PM

I used to be on food stamps, and I absolutely hated they way perfect strangers would look at the food I was buying as if it was any of their business. People on public assistance don't eat any healthier or unhealthier than the rest of the world- and they shouldn't have to. No, pop isn't a very health choice, but poor people have as much right to make unhealthy choices as rich people do.

Kelly

Tess · 06-02-2009, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by poet_kelly

I used to be on food stamps, and I absolutely hated they way perfect strangers would look at the food I was buying as if it was any of their business. People on public assistance don't eat any healthier or unhealthier than the rest of the world- and they shouldn't have to. No, pop isn't a very health choice, but poor people have as much right to make unhealthy choices as rich people do.

Kelly

I was on them.... Once. and then i went out and got a job. Lets face it. when Roosevelt started the public assistants program he had no idea ho it would be sooooooo abused by so may, and it is thats a fact. When I was on then it never bother me if some looked because they were paying for it. I pay with my hard earned money. And yes recent studies have show they eat less healthy because they cant afford not to. Most of us cant effors to eat well anymore.

Nothing wrong with chips and a sandwich but I saw the abuse first hand while working at walmart and its ashamed. Not every one does and maybe you didnt but to say its not WIDELY abused is not a true statment because it is. Theres been studies done. Its is widely abused. I personally think. right now times are hard and eveyone may need a little help every now and then but I know people who have never worked and always been on public assitance.

As long as its coming out of my check Anyone has a right to be pissed about it and nosy. I know so many perfectly able people who set on their butts getting a check every month. I think they should do like they do WIC and they should only be aloud to buy from a list of certain items.

It really is our buisness. Its all our buisness if your hard working and its coming out of your check. Im sorry your feeling were hurt by this but as I said I have gotten them too. ONCE.

Old people and the handycapped should be aloud to get them and anyone out of work for a short time and thats it. I grew up with young women who bred like rabbits to keep their checks and food stamps. Its BS. Pay 15 a month for rent while I knew people who worked tow jobs and lived in our parking lot. BS

poet_kelly · 06-02-2009, 02:07 PM

It's not that easy to abuse public assistance anymore. Most states have limits on how long you can receive assistance. In Ohio, where I live, you can get cash assistance for 36 months in a row, for a lifetime total of five years. In order to get assistance, though, you have to be involved in a "work activity" for 30 hours a week. This may include a job (although if you have a job, you probably won't qualify for cash assistance) or a county-approved GED program or job training program. I think the rules are quite reasonable.

Kelly

Tess · 06-02-2009, 02:24 PM

I know it is getting better. One can only hope they do more. Now they are getting SSI and saying the "Eagle shit here this month" when the check comes in

I'm so offended by that. Not only are they drug addicts and wont work but they take money from me and mock our very nations symbol. theres still a lot of drug addicts getting the SSI. I know two personally. I grew up with them. They claim and claim and then get a attorney and get a big lump sum payment of about 30 grand. I know they can work. They're Oxi heads. Is it still set up as ong as they have children they can get a check??

poet_kelly · 06-02-2009, 02:35 PM

You can't get SSI just because you're a drug addict. Drug addiction used to be considered a disability by social security, but they changed that back in 1990-something. Of course, you could be a drug addict and have another disability. It's not easy to get disability if you aren't really disabled, though. In fact, it's not easy to get it even if you are really disabled. I'm sure some do slip through the cracks, but extensive medical documentation is required.

Kelly