HOUSTON, Jeremy Desel/11 News -- The health care reform plan is leaving many doctors with questions about the long-term health of their practices.
“Reimbursement? Money? Making money?--We are also making a living. You know, we are not going to compromise people’s health, but it is a business," said Houston doctor Roland Maldonado.
Doctors depend on negotiated rates with insurance companies -- companies doctors expect will want to pay less from now on because of health insurance reform.
The Obama administration is claiming the bill will have immediate impacts, like removing pre-existing conditions exclusions for children, adding patient protections, extending coverage to young adults under their parents' plans and protections from rescinding insurance when claims are filed.
In actuality, those headline-grabbing items don't really take effect for six months.
University of Houston economist Scott Imberman said that is not unusual.
"As far as changes in law go, six months is about as immediate as you are going to get," he said.
But it may have an impact on some patients, especially those who could have coverage dropped due to claims.
"The insurance company may kind of speed up that timeline, and say, well we are not going to be able to drop them six months from now so we might as well go ahead and drop them now," Imberman said.
That could leave adult patients exposed until pre-existing conditions exclusions are banned four years from now.
In the end, health care reform may well be like many of the conditions Maldonado sees in his patients.
"Wait and see how it really affects us over time," he said.
Showing posts with label Houston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Houston. Show all posts
Jan 18, 2010
Best to lose some weight before weight-loss surgery
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Having weight-loss surgery? Shedding a few pounds before the surgery might reduce your risk of having surgical complications, a new study hints.
A look back at the medical records of 881 patients who had weight-loss surgery found that the more weight patients lost before surgery, the less likely they were to suffer post-op complications, such as infections, blood clots, and kidney problems.
Preoperative weight changes varied among the 881 patients, ranging from modest weight gain to weight loss of more than 10 percent of excess body weight.
The post-surgery complication rate was nearly twofold higher in patients who gained weight before surgery relative to those who lost weight before surgery, Dr. Peter N. Benotti of the Saint Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey and colleagues report in the Archives of Surgery.
All of the patients had undergone open or "keyhole" Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. With this procedure, staples are used to create a pouch in the stomach that can hold only a small amount of food at a time; then, a portion of the small intestine is attached to the pouch so that food bypasses the rest of the stomach and part of the small intestine.
Patients who had the more-invasive open surgery were at increased risk of post-op complications, regardless of whether they gained or lost weight before the surgery, the researchers found.
The popularity of weight-loss surgery has increased in recent years and so too have the numbers of patients seeking surgery who are older and sicker, the researchers note.
As more of these high-risk patients seek out surgical weight-loss options, doctors are facing a need to identify risk factors and help prepare patients for successful surgery. The current study, the researchers say, suggests that pre-surgery weight loss may be one step that will help those having weight-loss surgery to achieve a more favorable outcome.
Some surgeons who perform weight-loss surgery mandate that certain high-risk patients lose some weight before having the surgery, Benotti and colleagues note. However, others believe that mandated pre-surgery weight loss "may be a deterrent to surgery." In addition, the long term effect of shedding a few pounds before weight-loss surgery is also unclear.
In a telephone interview with Reuters Health, Benotti said patients need to know that weight-loss surgery "is not a definitive treatment." A healthy diet, lifestyle change, and behavior modification are essential for maintaining weight loss after surgery, the researcher said.
"Surgery is a carrot; it provides motivation for people knowing they will have help," Benotti said.
SOURCE: Archives of Surgery, December 2009.
A look back at the medical records of 881 patients who had weight-loss surgery found that the more weight patients lost before surgery, the less likely they were to suffer post-op complications, such as infections, blood clots, and kidney problems.
Preoperative weight changes varied among the 881 patients, ranging from modest weight gain to weight loss of more than 10 percent of excess body weight.
The post-surgery complication rate was nearly twofold higher in patients who gained weight before surgery relative to those who lost weight before surgery, Dr. Peter N. Benotti of the Saint Francis Medical Center in Trenton, New Jersey and colleagues report in the Archives of Surgery.
All of the patients had undergone open or "keyhole" Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgery. With this procedure, staples are used to create a pouch in the stomach that can hold only a small amount of food at a time; then, a portion of the small intestine is attached to the pouch so that food bypasses the rest of the stomach and part of the small intestine.
Patients who had the more-invasive open surgery were at increased risk of post-op complications, regardless of whether they gained or lost weight before the surgery, the researchers found.
The popularity of weight-loss surgery has increased in recent years and so too have the numbers of patients seeking surgery who are older and sicker, the researchers note.
As more of these high-risk patients seek out surgical weight-loss options, doctors are facing a need to identify risk factors and help prepare patients for successful surgery. The current study, the researchers say, suggests that pre-surgery weight loss may be one step that will help those having weight-loss surgery to achieve a more favorable outcome.
Some surgeons who perform weight-loss surgery mandate that certain high-risk patients lose some weight before having the surgery, Benotti and colleagues note. However, others believe that mandated pre-surgery weight loss "may be a deterrent to surgery." In addition, the long term effect of shedding a few pounds before weight-loss surgery is also unclear.
In a telephone interview with Reuters Health, Benotti said patients need to know that weight-loss surgery "is not a definitive treatment." A healthy diet, lifestyle change, and behavior modification are essential for maintaining weight loss after surgery, the researcher said.
"Surgery is a carrot; it provides motivation for people knowing they will have help," Benotti said.
SOURCE: Archives of Surgery, December 2009.
Dec 17, 2009
Dr. Ken Hollis's Memorial Hermann Webinar
Obesity is rapidly becoming the nation’s No. 1 health concern. Of the 97 million Americans who suffer from obesity, 5 million to 10 million of them are considered morbidly obese.
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We invite you to browse our website, and look forward to working with you to build a healthy lifestyle and meet your weight loss goals!
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Dr. Ken Hollis & the BayChoice Staff
To Your Success!
Dr. Ken Hollis & the BayChoice Staff
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