The Pennsylvania Employees Benefit Trust Fund will cover bariatric surgery for some of its state employees.
Here's what you should know:
1. To be eligible, beneficiaries must have a body mass index of 40 or above and/or must have Type 2 diabetes. In addition, the beneficiaries must participate in a physician-supervised nutrition and exercise program for at least six months prior to the procedure.
2. The coverage went into effect Jan. 1.
3. The trust fund covers 77,000 state employees and their dependents as well as 63,000 retirees and their dependents.
4. The American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery released a statement calling the coverage, "a very important step in the right direction, and hopefully a signal to the handful of states that still deny bariatric surgery to reconsider their policy."
5. Despite the added coverage, ASMBS disagreed with Pennsylvania's plan on two fundamental levels: the six-month mandatory diet and exercise requirement and restricting the surgery to only those with a BMI at 40 or above or those with diabetes. ASMBS believes the requirements contrast with those developed and recommended by the National Institutes of Health.
6. South Carolina, Louisiana, Montana, Idaho, Utah, Wisconsin and Georgia are the last states that do not cover bariatric surgery for state employees.