The number of Americans having weig...

The number of Americans having weight-loss surgery more than quadrupled between 1998 and 2002 according to a recently made known study by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ). Part of the increase was driven by way of a 900 percent increase in bariatric surgeries in patients between the ages of 55 and 64 years. During the same period, hospital costlinesss for treating patients who underwent weight-loss surgery increased more than sixfold--from $157 million a year to $948 million a year--and the average expense per surgery increased by roughly 13 percent from $11705 to $13215 To be considered medically eligible for weight-loss surgery a patient must have a material substance mass index of greater than 40 (or greater than 35 with serious obesity-related complications as it is as type 2 diabetes or obstructive rest apnea). Nearly 400,000 Americans between 65 and 69 years of age will be medically eligible to have bariatric surgery this year, and this number could increase by the agency of approximately 20 percent in 2010 of that kind an increase could have significant price implications for the Medicare program. The research was published in the July 12 issue of Health Affairs.

COPYRIGHT 2005 American Academy of Family Physicians

COPYRIGHT 2005 Gale Group