Bariatric and Metabolic Surgery and Medical Insurance Payment in China

AbstractPurpose of ReviewThis paper briefly introduces the status quo of bariatric and metabolic surgery and medical insurance payment in China.Recent FindingsAlong with China ’s rapid economic growth, the prevalence of obesity and diabetes is increasing quickly. Because of their high body fat percentage and predominance of abdominal obesity, Chinese people experience metabolic disorders more frequently than Caucasians with the same BMI. Treatments are not medical becau se there is a lack of social understanding of obesity. Furthermore, obesity has not been accepted as a disease in China and so has not been included in the medical insurance payment system. Therefore, weight-loss medications are not covered by medical insurance. In China, bariatric and metabolic sur gery have advanced for almost 20 years, and corresponding guidelines have been developed. However, there are regional and cognitive variations in whether medical insurance covers bariatric surgery or not. Recent research on the financial advantages of medical insurance coverage for weight-loss surg ery showed that it conserves healthcare system resources.SummaryIt will be important to raise public awareness regarding obesity in the future, present more evidence of the clinical efficacy of surgery, and work towards a higher percentage of medical insurance reimbursement for obesity treatment and bariatric surgery.
Source: Current Obesity Reports - Category: Eating Disorders & Weight Management Source Type: research