Question any weight loss surgeon about whether or not gastric bypass surgery lessens a patient's risk of early death and he will tell you without any hesitation that it certainly does. Indeed, he will probably be surprised that you are asking the question in the first place since surgeons have known for years that weight loss surgery extends patients' lives. However, put that same question to a range of insurance companies and you might well receive a different answer because, until now, despite the fact that there has been plenty of anecdotal evidence for what we all know to be the case, there has not been any hard, concrete numerical proof. Now however the results of 2 studies have clearly shown in numerical terms that gastric bypass surgery has a significant effect on the death rates of those concerned. In the first study, a multi-center United States study involving 16,000 patients followed for 7 years, long-term death rates dropped by as much as 40 percent. additionally a second Swedish study involving some 4,000 patients demonstrated a 29 percent fall in death rates. For a long time now insurance companies have sought to put obstacles in the path of patients to prevent them from claiming for weight loss surgery and this has been gaining momentum recently as the number of weight loss surgeries being carried out has climbed dramatically and weight loss surgery has gained greater acceptance with a number of celebrities such as Star Jones, Carnie Wilson, Al Rocker and others undergoing obesity surgery. Insurance companies have however stuck rigidly to the line that gastric bypass surgery should only be used as the option of last resort and that all possible efforts to lose weight using exercise and diet, including if necessary the use of medication, must be exhausted before weight loss surgery can be approved. In addition, they have also insisted that gastric bypass surgery can only finally be undertaken if weight poses a life-threatening risk. For the majority of people this position by the insurance companies is seen as being totally stupid and a position which they have clearly adopted simply to save money. Like it or not, despite this view, the insurance companies have gotten away with this for years now because it has been impossible to demonstrate in terms of facts and figures that gastric bypass surgery is not just a convenient and relatively easy way to lose weight but is the only option for many obesity sufferers and an option that will not only improve their quality of life but literally extend their lives, in many cases quite significantly. For years overweight individuals have fought with their weight and, while some have experienced very limited success, most people (and unquestionably those who need to lose more than 80 pounds) have discovered that exercise and diet quite simply does not work. However, they have not had a choice and doctors have also been forced to lead patients down this road because of the stance of the insurance companies. It is to be hoped that at long last the insurance companies will be forced to face up to their responsibility in this area and finally put the needs of their policyholders before those of their shareholders.
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