States variations in the provision of bariatric surgery under Affordable Care Act exchanges.

Abstract

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) attempts to reduce healthcare costs while simultaneously providing the means for more Americans to obtain health insurance. Among other things, the ACA expands preventative care for obesity by mandating screening and counseling. However, it permits the states to determine whether to mandate treatments for inclusion in plans offered on the state-run exchanges. Bariatric surgery is a highly cost-effective treatment for obesity, yet states have taken varying stances on whether to mandate its inclusion. In light of the rising cost of obesity and resulting burden placed on the federal government and the economy, this article advocates a comparable mandatory inclusion of bariatric surgery in all plans offered on state and federally run exchanges.

• Authors: Y Tony Yang, Jennifer L Pomeranz
• Journal: Surgery for obesity and related diseases : official journal of the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (Surg Obes Relat Dis) 2015 May-Jun Vol. 11 Issue 3 Pg. 715-20 ISSN: 1878-7533 [Electronic] United States
• PMID: 25620432 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
• Copyright: Copyright © 2015 American Society for Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Topics

• Bariatric Surgery (economics)
• Health Care Costs
• Humans
• Insurance, Health (economics)
• Obesity, Morbid (economics, surgery)
• Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (organization & administration)
• United States