DOOLEY Observed: Fat State Stretched Thin: Tenn. Covers Gastric Bypass

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"The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not."-- Thomas Jefferson

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If you can't start a fire, perhaps your wood is wet ....

When you elect clowns, expect a circus ..............

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Fat State Stretched Thin: Tenn. Covers Gastric Bypass

by Daniel Potter

Ethicon Endo-Surgery Inc. Gastric bypass procedures (GBP) divide the stomach into a small "gastric" pouch and a much larger, lower "bypassed" pouch. The operation makes the stomach smaller and makes the patient feel full faster.

Tennessee's state Medicaid program faces hundreds of millions of dollars in budget cuts in the coming months. The program, known as TennCare, won't pay for overweight patients to get counseling from dietitians, but it will pay for the morbidly obese to lose weight through surgery, such as gastric bypass.

That has led some critics to complain that TennCare won't pay for an ounce of prevention but will pay for a pound of cure.