The article, “Insurance-mandated weight management program completion before bariatric
surgery provides no long-term clinical benefit” [
[1]
], expands upon the authors’ prior work published in this journal in 2018 [
[2]
]. That study, comparing 12-month postoperative results between patients with and
without an insurance-mandated weight management program (WMP) requirement before surgery,
showed no significant difference in operation time, postoperative length of stay,
readmission, reoperation, patient follow-up, and postoperative weight loss between
groups. Not unexpectedly, patients with an insurance-mandated WMP requirement were
delayed access to surgery by nearly 3 additional months. This study includes a greater
number of patients and extends the period of study to include outcomes up to 5 years
after surgery. The outcomes ultimately reaffirm the conclusions of the prior article,
together with most others published over the past decade, including one from our organization
in 2020 [
[3]
]. The clear consensus is that there is absolutely no improvement in outcomes, but
there is a significant delay in care for those patients required to undergo an insurance-mandated
preoperative weight loss program.To read this article in full you will need to make a payment
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References
Hutcheon DA, Ewing JA, St. Ville M, et al. Insurance-mandated weight management program completion before bariatric surgery provides no long-term clinical benefit. Surg Obes Relat Dis. Epub 2022 Oct 27.
- Postoperative outcomes in bariatric surgical patients participating in an insurance-mandated preoperative weight management program.Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2018; 14: 623-630
- Insurance-mandated medical weight management programs in sleeve gastrectomy patients do not improve postoperative weight loss outcomes at 1 year.Obes Surg. 2020; 30: 3333-3340
- Paired editorial for insurance mandated medical weight management program prior to bariatric surgery.Surg Obes Relat Dis. 2016; 12: 500-501
- Obesity management for the treatment of type 2 diabetes: Standards of Medical Care in Diabetes–2018.Diabetes Care. 2018; 41: S65-S72
Article info
Publication history
Published online: December 07, 2022
Publication stage
In Press Journal Pre-ProofIdentification
Copyright
© 2022 American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
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- Comment on: Insurance-mandated weight management program completion before bariatric surgery provides no long-term clinical benefitSurgery for Obesity and Related Diseases
- PreviewBy 2030, 1 in 2 American adults is projected to have obesity and 1 in 4 clinically severe obesity. Obesity represents a serious public health issue because it is a major risk factor for many major, noncommunicable diseases, such as type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and cancer, and independently predicts overall mortality. The burden of obesity on medical spending is also significant, with $1861 in excess annual medical costs per adult with obesity and $3097 per adult with severe obesity—accounting for $173 billion annually in the United States [1].
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- Insurance-mandated weight management program completion before bariatric surgery provides no long-term clinical benefitSurgery for Obesity and Related Diseases
