Lap bands in the News down under

[Manny 0]

Hi there,

Here in Australia there is an Obesity Conference that is making the news every day for some reason or other.

Some great publicity about the lap band and its success- here is the link if you are interested in reading...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/health/sophie_scott/newsitems/s1735655.htm

[PattiCakes 0]

Hey Auto, that story was really interesting, thanks! The last line says that it is not covered by Medicare, is that just there? I know it covers here, so I was just wondering. Thanks again for the info.

[Manny 0]

Hi there,

Notice I have changed my nickname to Manny (my real name is Emmanual).

I think there may be some confusion about terminology- in Australia, Medicare is the national health care scheme that covers all Australians for the majority of medical needs for free. In other words, universal health care provided by the government. I thought this didn't really exist in the US- hence I am wondering if Medicare means something else to you?

The lapband procedure is not covered, so if you want the lapband, you need to have private health insurance or pay upfront. I have private health insurance and paid less than $1000 US for my surgery.

Since then, I have had so much success that two others in my workplace (an office of about 60 staff) have also had a lapband. So I have started a trend!

Cheers,

[christy 0]

Medicare in the US covers seniors and retirees. We also have Medicaid which covers the low income -- although not very well.

Thanks for the article!

[PattiCakes 0]

Medicare also covers those of us who are disabled, no matter what our age may be.

[Chickie 15]

The lapband procedure is not covered, so if you want the lapband, you need to have private health insurance or pay upfront. I have private health insurance and paid less than $1000 US for my surgery.

Hi Manny,

Just to let you know, Medicare does cover the band, provided there is a medical need. True you get less than $1000 back, but it is still a Medicare refund, right? lol

My band doc charged $4200, my health fund refunded me $2k, and Medicare $870 (or something like that) Then I got an extra $150 back on my tax return.

You can actually get banded on the public list in some states too, provided you are prepared to wait up to 10 years