The future success of Obamacare are still up for debate, but since obesity was officially declared a disease, new coverage will be available under the Affordable Care Act.
According to USA Today, screening and counseling for obesity is covered under preventive services benefit, but health plan offers for patients will vary. Some insurance companies pay for patients to participate in lifestyle intervention programs.
Multiple reports say insurance plans are required to help obese patients try to lose weight under the new health care law, and many insurers plan to add more coverage by January 2014.
"Screening and counseling for obesity has to be covered with no patient cost-sharing (co-payments, co-insurance or deductibles) by most insurers under the preventive services benefit of the Affordable Care Act," Susan Pisano, a spokeswoman for America's Health Insurance Plans, the national trade association representing the health insurance industry, told USA Today. "Medicare is already covering this service."
USA Today reports a third of adults in this country are obese, which is roughly 35 or more pounds over a healthy weight. Officials say obesity will increase your risk to develop diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer.
For extreme obesity cases, some insurers cover prescription weight-loss medications and bariatric surgery, such as gastric bypass and gastric banding. However, most physicians suggest patients to make lifestyle changes, such making healthier diet choices and increasing physical fitness activities.
"It's like all of medicine - you should give your most intensive therapies to your sickest patients," obesity researcher Donna Ryan, professor emeritus at the Pennington Biomedical Research Center in Baton Rouge, told USA Today. "In order to understand treatment choices in obesity, you need to factor in health risk. For low-risk patients, telephone counseling is fine. But for high-risk patients, you want a more intensive course of action. It's not one-size-fits all."
