Connecticut legislature considers requiring health insurance coverage of obesity surgery

• A proposal before Connecticut lawmakers would require insurance companies to cover the surgery for people with a body-mass index of 30 or more if a doctor deems the surgery medically necessary.
• The Connecticut proposal may not get off the ground this session because lawmakers are struggling to define under what medical conditions the surgery should be covered, said Sen.
• Georgia lawmakers are considering a similar bill this year.
• And in Louisiana, 40 state employees were chosen last year from 1,200 applications to get the surgery on the state's dime.
• The standard surgery, which can cost between $20,000 and $35,000, involves using staples to separate a small pouch at the stomach's top from the rest of the stomach, greatly limiting the amount of food that can be eaten.
• Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama recently stopped paying for the operations while it decides how to handle claims; Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Florida has also decided to stop paying for the operation.
• In Connecticut, many major plans offer coverage only for large numbers of employees.
• Others are considering offering the coverage for an additional charge.
• "Many plans decide the best course of action simply is to exclude coverage."
• But many physicians say the long-term benefits of weight loss surgery outweigh the risk.
• Gastric bypass surgery can help cure obesity-related health problems such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure, sleep apnea and even diabetes, said Dr. Jonathan Aranow, director of the Middlesex Hospital Center for Obesity Surgery.
• It can also cut down on the long-term cost of medications, he said.
• Complications strike as many as 1 in 5 patients having the surgery, and it is believed that for every 200 patients, 1 to 4 will die.