BUSINESS

Weighing options: The business of helping obese patients

What does insurance pay for? Bariatric surgery, yes; weight management, maybe.

WEIGHT MANAGEMENT: Reimbursement an issue.
BARIATRIC SURGERY: The surgeons are busy.

By Julie A. Jacob and Cheryl Jackson, AMNews staff. May 20, 2002.

When a physician spends time talking to an obese patient about the importance of keeping one's weight at a healthy level, it's a question mark whether the doctor will get paid for that service.

Physician reimbursement of patient weight management counseling and treatment varies from insurer to insurer, even though data show that obesity, if untreated, leads to higher health care costs.

An article in the March/April issue of Health Affairs reported that obesity is linked to a 36% increase in inpatient and outpatient health care costs and a 77% increase in prescription drug costs.

Despite the link between obesity and chronic health problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure, few insurers say they will pay for separate office visits just for patients to talk with their physicians about weight management.

"Very few insurance companies pay for obesity and, if they do, they have very limited coverage," said Craig A. Keebler, MD, an ob-gyn, board certified with the American Society of Bariatric Medicine. Dr. Keebler runs Bellevue Premier Health, a weight m

It costs patients about $120 to $220 a month for treatment at the clinic, including exams and counseling, he said.

But increased coverage of obesity counseling and treatment is something insurers are looking at, especially in wake of the U.S. surgeon general's report on obesity and a clarification of Internal Revenue Service rules allowing patients to get tax deduc [...]

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