Medicare and bariatric surgery

On November 4, 2004, Central Medicare Services (CMS) organized a Medicare Coverage Advisory Committee (MCAC) meeting to evaluate the safety and effectiveness of bariatric surgery. Several questions were posed, and the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS) submitted an organized response to these questions. Henry Buchwald, M.D., F.A.C.S., Professor of Surgery, University of Minnesota; Harvey Sugerman, M.D., F.A.C.S., Emeritus Professor of Surgery, Virginia Commonwealth University and President, ASBS; and Samuel Klein, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Gerontology, Washington University School of Medicine were invited experts on the topic and were nonvoting members of the MCAC panel.