Expert Panel Discusses Obesity Coverage

September 21, 2012–Before a room of attentive healthcare providers, a panel of obesity coverage experts including Ted Kyle, RPh, Steve Cook, MD, MPH, Louis Aronne, MD, and Anne Wolf, MS, RD, discussed ways to navigate the complex and changing world of how to get paid for obesity counseling and treatment.The session, entitled "Pay Now or Later," was a part of The Obesity Society’s annual scientific meeting, held this year in San Antonio. The panelists discussed specific rules regarding coverage, changing now because of the Affordable Care Act, as well as sharing their real world experience with dealing with insurance companies and other payers. The panel, while agreeing that coverage for obesity is improving, felt that the US is still a way away from offering adequate, affordable healthcare coverage for the treatment of obesity to everyone.