Does Medicare cover this.......The Duodenal Switch........

I was wondering if medicare covers it .........I am 100 lbs over weight ..........

I was asking for a friend and called them for them and they do TY in advance........

Yeap...now Medicare Advantage plans may have extra hoops to jump thru but it IS covered by Medicare.

Don't let the surgeon give you the rigamaroll about it only being for those who are a 50BMI or higher...Medicare covers it for anyone over a 40BMI  (35 BMI with co-morbids)

Any surgeon who says 50+ is doing you a disservice.

Liz

I was "only" 100 lbs overweight and Medicare did pay.  Some surgeons will say you are not heavy enough so you will have to find a surgeon who takes Medicare (not all do) and who also does the whole DS on people with "only" 100 lbs to loose.  You will very likely have to travel...most of us did.  I only had to travel 4.5 hours but I had to stay local to my surgeon for a week post-op until I got the all clear to go home.  I know that if I had had ANY other surgery that I would be well on my way back to where I started.  The DS is working for me even when I DON'T do what I am supposed to do.  *(Not advocating that btw.)

~Becky

Had no problem with nedicare . Actually medicare made it happen while my aetna jerked me around 7yrs . But they got the part B bill any way and paid it

I am checking now. Medicare covers but my bcbsil requires 50> BMI. I am checking with BCBSIL to see if this has been updated. 

Try to fight this...

I know my BCBSTN (Medicare) covered mine, no squabbles, and I was at a 35.2 BMI. BUT I was an insulin pump dependant type 2...it was cheaper to do surgery than to keep paying for my insulin and pump supplies.

Medicare covered mine.  At the time the DS and RNY were the only two they covered.  I had a BMI near 70 on surgery day, and a few co-morbidities, so my approval process went smooth as silk.