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Study: Healthcare Costs Drop After Bariatric Surgery

posted by Admin User at 2016-01-29 09:21:00


A recent study presented at ObesityWeek2015, found that healthcare costs drop significantly after bariatric surgery. Four years after patients had undergone gastric bypass surgery, it was observed that their healthcare costs dropped by 40 percent along with their weight loss. Those who had type 2 diabetes before the surgery, saw their healthcare cots fall by a whopping 80 percent.
“The main reduction in costs were related to fewer hospital admissions and clinic visits, and a reduction in the use of prescription drugs for diabetes, hypertension, and heart disease,” said co-author of the study, John M. Morton, MD, MPH, Chief of Bariatric and Minimally Invasive Surgery at Stanford University School of Medicine and president of the ASMBS. “Costs were higher across the board for patients who did not have bariatric surgery showing there is an even higher cost to not treating obesity, in dollars as this study shows and in longevity and quality of life, as many other studies have shown.”
The study compared healthcare costs of 823 laparoscopic gastric bypass patients, with 786 non-surgical patients. At the weeklong conference on obesity, the study’s authors said that individuals who had gone through with the weight loss surgery had healthcare costs which were$7,592 less per patient than those who hadn’t.
Patients diagnosed with type 2 diabetes before the bariatric surgery also saw their healthcare costs drop; in over four years, per patient costs were $22,600 less than those who hadn’thad the procedure resulting in savings of around 78 percent. About 70 percent of diabetics who had the procedure, had gone through a remission of their diabetes post-surgery.
“The findings show treating obesity has important health benefits that translate into real cost savings,” said Robin Blackstone, MD, Chief, Section of Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery at Banner - University Medical Center, who was not involved in the study. “Bariatric surgery saves lives and money and is one of the best investments patients and their insurers can make.”
 
posted at: 2016-01-29 09:21:00, last updated: 2016-01-29 09:22:06
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