Bariatric Surgery: Financially Planning Your Weight-Loss Surgery

In addition to being physically and mentally prepared for weight-loss surgery, it’s important to be financially prepared as well. The cost of a procedure will vary depending on the patient’s specific needs, what kind of surgery they are getting, and any post-operative complications they experience.

Many of those same factors are taken into consideration by insurance companies in determining whether or how much of a procedure they will cover. More and more policies are inclusive of bariatric surgery, not only because of the procedure’s well-documented success rate, but also because morbid obesity is associated with so many additional (and costly) health issues that can be lessened or alleviated with substantial weight loss.

One report in the August 2004 issue of Obesity Surgery found that, on average, health care costs for patients suffering from morbid obesity were reduced by 29 percent within five years following bariatric surgery, due to the reduction or elimination of obesity-related conditions. Another study published in 2008 in the American Journal of Managed Care indicates that insurance companies may recoup the amount they spend on metabolic and bariatric surgery within two to four years following a patient’s procedure.

Despite these facts, it’s best to always check with your insurer about what surgeries and related expenses will be covered ahead of time. The staff at Penn’s Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery Program can offer guidance about navigating what can at times be a complex process. But rest assured, with all the benefits of bariatric surgery, it will likely be the best money you have ever spent.

For more information about the Penn Metabolic & Bariatric Surgery Program, sign up for a free weight-loss surgery information session today.