Rich person's surgery?

I'm sorta frustrated since I'm on a limited income. I want the DS, but it seems it's a surgery tailored to only people with lots of money.

Some could say this about obesity surgery in general though, with the hassle of getting insurnace to cover it.

The good thing is now Medicare and many Medicaid programs do cover it.

But that doesn't mean a person of limited means can have the DS. First, you usually have to travel to find an experienced surgeon. Some of these won't take Medicare or Medicaid so your pool is further limited.

The ONLY way I can afford to have mine is to have it in Topeka where my mother lives--the DS surgeons in Colorado are particularly greedy and don't take poorer people's insurance--only insurances that pay them at a premium. The Topeka surgeons seem to be just starting to do the DS, although they are experienced in other surgeries and revisions with good stats--the DS experience simply isn't there yet. It's a scary situation for me. But I don't have the money to buy experience. Medical care shouldn't depend onone's amount of money--but this is America and it's all about the money.

There is controversy about the Medicare Advantage programs. I'm enrolled in one. More providers take it because it pays at the higher Blue Cross Blue shield rate than the lower Medicare rate. This is a freebie giveaway to the health providers from the government because the care isn't any different despite the increased cost. But Bush and his cronies are all about government welfare and handouts for rich corporations and the wealthy. Hopefully, Obama will cut this waste out and mandate that providers take care of sick people for reasonable payment as other civilized countries do.

We should start calling it what it is--greed. Medical professionals should be able to make a good living, but not to be greedy. Greed doesn't go well with caring for patients.

As it is now the DS is an operation for people with the resources to afford it...hopefully one day it will be an operation for those who need it, regardless of their resources.