WASHINGTON (Reuters) - In a policy shift that could affect millions of Americans, obesity treatments may be covered under Medicare and Medicaid, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson said on Thursday.
State and federal health insurance plans for the poor and elderly currently do not consider obesity itself a disease, though some conditions linked to obesity are covered.
However, Thompson said if an obesity treatment could be proved to improve the health of a Medicare recipient, it would be covered.
"Obesity is a critical public health problem in our country that causes millions of Americans to suffer unnecessary health problems and to die prematurely," he said in a statement.
"Treating obesity-related illnesses and complications adds billions of dollars to the nation's health care costs," he added in testimony to the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services and Education.
"With this new policy, Medicare will be able to review scientific evidence in order to determine which interventions improve health outcomes for seniors and disabled Americans who are obese and its many associated medical conditions."
The Department of Health and Human Services said a first step would be a look at obesity surgery like gastric bypass.
HHS said in a statement it did not expect the new policy to have any immediate impact, as the Center for Medicare and Medicaid services would have to review any claim.
"We encourage and we're expecting requests to review scientific evidence evaluating the benefits of a range of treatments for obesity in the Medicare population," said CMS Chief Medical Officer Dr. Sean Tunis.
"As a first step, we expect to convene our Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee in the fall to evaluate the evidence on obesity-related surgical procedures that may reduce the risk of heart disease and other illnesses."