CNN – Reports Weight Loss Surgery Insurance Debate
CNN – Reports on the controversy regarding the need for medical insurance to pay for weight loss surgery procedures for the morbidly obese. The debate arrises from the notion that a person’s obesity is a result of personal responsibility and not any known naturally occurring medical condition. However, medical insurance companies do not deny medical treatment due to lung cancer if the person was a chronic smoker all their life.
By reimbursing for weight loss surgery, overall health care cost would be reduced significantly since surgery patients would be less likely to obtain a secondary diseases like high blood pressure, stoke, heart attack, edema and diabetes once the weight comes off.
Most experts believe that there would be a national reduction of health care costs since less money would be spent on treating morbid obesity related diseases which in turn would also help to reduce insurance premiums.