Medical and Malpractice Insurance companies are reevaluating providing insurance for bariatric procedures.

A growing number of bariatric surgeries performed translates into more malpractice lawsuits. With the rise in popularity of bariatric surgery, a high priced and profitable procedure, many general surgeons have taken quick courses and the number of ‘qualified surgeons’ for bariatric surgery has risen to more than 1300 from just a few hundred 10 years ago.

Bariatric surgery still has a great risk of failure and the complications involved with giving a patient with a lot of excessive weight surgery are still high. Thousands upon thousands of patients have went under the knife to receive bariatric surgery and have claimed that it has changed their lives for the better. But now, people seeking the surgery are finding it harder because the threat of malpractice lawsuits is on the rise and the coverage provided by health plans is becoming reluctant to offer help to just anyone.

Some surgeons are retiring rather than paying ridiculous premiums on malpractice insurance that can skyrocket to $300,000, while some malpractice insurance companies are stopping coverage of bariatric surgery all together. The Medical Liability Mutual Insurance Company cited a 400-600% loss ratio on bariatric coverage and notified surgeons it will stop covering it last year. Health plans need to find better qualified surgeons with less risk for errors, meaning patients will have to travel further than ever to for the surgery. In addition, health plans are forcing its members into 6-month to one-year long periods of psychological evaluation, dieting, and exercise before shelling out the money to pay for bariatric surgery. According to the National Institute of Health, at least 5 million adults are candidates for bariatric surgery because of weight and associated conditions such as heart disease and diabetes.

If anything the selection process for candidates to get bariatric surgery will become stricter. The prospects for success in some people are higher than others and perhaps surgeons will evaluate its patients more carefully than before. Health insurance companies will be doing more to limit bariatric coverage in patients who have not undergone a thorough evaluation. The surprise increase in the popularity of the surgery has forced all of the insurance companies: private, federal, and malpractice to reconsider their guidelines for coverage.

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