The government plans to subsidize more weight-loss surgery. Medicare spent about $13,000 on the surgery for each of 8,000 people last year (that's about $100 million), but the procedure might save money by averting other medical problems related to obesity. However, the program might stop subsidizing such surgery for seniors, because data suggest it's killing them.Technorati Tags: Obesity, Bariatric Surgery, Surgery, Medicine
I'm Dr. Joshua Schwimmer, a nephrologist and internal medicine physician in New York City. • Kidney Notes was the first active nephrology blog. (Trivia: Kidney Notes is so old that the National Library of Medicine still uses it as an example of how to formally cite blogs.) • Professionally, you can find me at Kidney.nyc. • Kidney Notes is for educational purposes only, not medical advice. Consult qualified health care professionals. See disclaimer.
Tuesday, November 29, 2005
"Cut Me Before I Eat Again" -- Bariatric Surgery in Slate
Via Slate: