Gastric bypass surgery saves on medical costs in the long term by reducing the risk of complications linked to obesity, according to a report in the journal Maturitas.
Gastric bypass surgery costs $20,000-$25,000 for the initial procedure but it has a good record of keeping off the lost weight, thus reducing medical complications from obesity-linked conditions like diabetes, cardiovascular disease and hypertension.
Researchers calculated that obese people with a body mass index of 40-50 showed a quality of life year cost of $1,900 when they had a weight-related disease and $3,800 when they were otherwise healthy. These numbers are significantly below $50,000 a year, which the researchers say is the upper limit for a cost-effective treatment.
However, most health insurers, following NIH guidelines, will only pay for bariatric surgery on patients with a BMI of 40 or higher, which equates to being around 100 pounds overweight for men and 80 pounds overweight for women.
Read the Maturitas report on gastric bypass surgery.
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