Are you having trouble finding that perfect gift for a fellow OH board member, support group friend, or a family member who has had or considering weight loss surgery? We know the perfect gift that they will all appreciate. A one year subscription to OH Magazine costs only $25 and will provide them with support, education and informative articles as they begin or continue their weight loss journey. Nowhere else can you find an 80-page full color magazine that provides information on weight loss surgery and shares the personal stories of others who have gone through the journey. This is a gift that they will appreciate all year long. To subscribe log onto http://oh-magazine.com or phone 1-866-297-4966. You can order as many gifts as you need and we will send them to the appropriate addresses. Don't waste any more time! Order your OH Magazine today!

The past few months I've been emailing back and forth with a lady who's brother didn't do to well with surgery. As in Jeremy's case he's had some rather severe complications. He had surgery on July 19th and has not been home since. He's currently in a nursing home trying to get rehab to walk again. So far he's lost 120 pounds, but he's still unable to take care of his self and is bed ridden. They don't have any phones in his room so mail is all he's got to look forward to. Please if you can take a moment to send Ken some well wishes, his family would be so grateful. Just a little note or card that we are all thinking about him. Let's show some OH love! :love: :kiss:

Ken Svejda
Cedar Valley Health Center
6124 Raytown Rd
Raytown, MO 64133

Ken's profile page, the top entry is from his sister.
http://www.obesityhelp.com/morbidobesity/members/status.php?N=S1101230692

Thanks Everyone!

Amy Williams

Everyone

We've had a number of hardware issues recently. You've probably experienced problems on the message boards with posts disappearing and reappearing. The problem here has been the age of some of our servers. We've recently had a number of server failures which have caused problems in the databases that support the web site. In addition, the older servers are slow. Our newest software is going to need better, faster machines. We can't upgrade the website until we've improved our servers. This process is ongoing and we've replaced a number of them recently.

Friday evening, the 9th of December at around 10PM Pacific time, we're going to replace one of our main servers. When we replace this one, it will be impossible for a period of anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes to post to any of the message boards. This is a very important change to support future upgrades, but also it will replace old hardware that has been prone to failure.

We know how much you depend on the boards to make contact with people who are helping you. For some people, they've become a life line ... a way to reach for and achieve a new life. We're committed to serving you as well as we can, but we sometimes fail in getting changes done cleanly and so cause you problems. We'll do our best to let you know when things are changing so you can be prepared. We're here for you and we hope you'll at least give us credit for trying.

We appreciate your patience as we work through this.

Amy Williams
Member Services Dept

Please let them know how your procedure has changed your life for the positive and that it should be covered. I feel the type of surgery to be performed should be decided by the patient and the doctor. Comments to: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/mcd/public_comment.asp?nca_id=160&basketitem= Also send a note to your Senator, Representative and President: http://mygov.governmentguide.com/mygov/home/ here is what Medicare has to say: "The evidence is not adequate to conclude that the following bariatric surgery procedures are reasonable and necessary and they are therefore non-covered for all Medicare beneficiaries: open vertical banded gastroplasty, laparoscopic vertical banded gastroplasty, open sleeve gastrectomy, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, open adjustable gastric banding, open biliopancreatic diversion with or without duodenal switch, and laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion with or without duodenal switch. The two non-coverage determinations in the National Coverage Determination Manual (NCDM) remain unchanged: Gastric Balloon (NCDM Section 100.11) and Intestinal Bypass (NCDM Section 100.8). " TEXT IS BELOW: Proposed Decision Memo for Bariatric Surgery for the Treatment of Morbid Obesity (CAG-00250R) Decision Summary The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) proposes that National Coverage Determination (NCD) Manual sections 40.5 and 100.1 be modified to be consistent with the following conclusions: The evidence is adequate to conclude that open and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) are reasonable and necessary for Medicare beneficiaries who are under 65 years of age, have a body-mass index (BMI) > 35, have at least one co-morbidity related to obesity, and have been previously unsuccessful with medical treatment for obesity. CMS is seeking comment on this evidence and its implications for coverage, and for the range of patients under age 65 who would be covered. We are particularly interested in comments on the potential to expand coverage for this population under the "Coverage with Evidence Development" (CED) option. In addition, the evidence is adequate to conclude that approved bariatric surgery procedures for Medicare beneficiaries are reasonable and necessary if the facility performing the procedure meets the following CMS facility standards: Each institution will have a credentialing program that ensures that surgeons performing bariatric surgery shall have; appropriate board certification, training and experience that meet approved nationally recognized guidelines, and training and clinical expertise in managing and treating morbidly obese patients prior to the decision to undertake surgery and have experience in managing post-surgery patients for at least one year after surgery. Each institution will ensure that individuals who provide services and/or supervise services in the bariatric surgery program are qualified to provide or supervise such services. Each institution will have an integrated program for the care of the morbidly obese patient that provides: ancillary services such as specialized nursing care, dietary instruction, counseling, support groups, exercise training, and psychological assistance as needed; a multidisciplinary bariatric surgery team with written descriptions of the responsibilities of each member of the team. The team must be composed of individuals with the appropriate qualifications, training and experience in the relevant areas of bariatric surgery, rehabilitation, critical care anesthesia, and nutrition counseling for the morbidly obese and post-bariatric surgery patients. Each institution will establish and implement written policies to address and document adverse events that occur during the management of a bariatric surgery patient. Each institution will have staff and readily available consultants in cardiology, pulmonology, rehabilitation and psychiatry who have prior experience with bariatric surgery patients. Each institution will have a written informed consent process that informs each patient of: 1) the evaluation process; 2) the surgical procedure; 3) alternative treatments; 4) national and center-specific rates for potential surgical risks, hospital lengths of stays, 30-day mortality and other relevant outcome measures; 5) risk factors that could affect the success of the surgery; 6) the patient's right to refuse the intervention. Each institution will have sufficient operating room tables, equipment, instruments and supplies specifically designed or appropriate for bariatric surgery; a recovery room capable of providing critical care to obese patients; an intensive care unit with similar capabilities; equipment with manufacturer's specifications, such as hospital beds, commodes, chairs, wheelchairs, etc., that accommodate the morbidly obese; and radiology and other diagnostic equipment capable of handling morbidly obese patients. The evidence is not adequate to conclude that open and laparoscopic Roux-en-Y gastric bypass (RYGBP) and laparoscopic adjustable gastric banding (LAGB) are reasonable and necessary for Medicare beneficiaries who are 65 years of age or older; therefore, CMS will non-cover these procedures in this population. The evidence is not adequate to conclude that the following bariatric surgery procedures are reasonable and necessary and they are therefore non-covered for all Medicare beneficiaries: open vertical banded gastroplasty, laparoscopic vertical banded gastroplasty, open sleeve gastrectomy, laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy, open adjustable gastric banding, open biliopancreatic diversion with or without duodenal switch, and laparoscopic biliopancreatic diversion with or without duodenal switch. The two non-coverage determinations in the National Coverage Determination Manual (NCDM) remain unchanged: Gastric Balloon (NCDM Section 100.11) and Intestinal Bypass (NCDM Section 100.8). CMS is requesting comment on this proposed decision. We are specifically interested in comments on the potential to cover the 65 and older population under CED. Though we have not finalized the CED Guidance Document, we believe this issue does meet the general guidelines outlined in that draft guidance document. CED would also allow the expansion of national coverage to this older population, with some limitations. Adherence to Departmental regulations including the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA, Public Law 104-191) and human research protections (45 CFR Part 46) would, as with all CED, be a requirement. We are also asking for public comment on the facility criteria to include the potential to establish more definitive bariatric surgery volume criteria for facilities and surgeons. In addition, we believe these standards will best be applied by organizations experienced in this process. Therefore, as part of this proposed decision, we are requesting comment on appropriate entities to apply these standards. We are aware that the American College of Surgeons and the American Society of Bariatric Surgeons have developed accrediting programs and we are specifically asking for comments about their level of competence in performing this facility review.