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Consumers perceive low coverage for obesity treatment, despite workplace wellness programs
Employees who have access to wellness programs at work are more likely to report perceived insurance coverage for weight-loss treatments, such as bariatric surgery, anti-obesity medications and medical weight management, vs. those without workplace incentive programs, but overall perceived coverage for obesity treatments remains low, according to an analysis of survey data.
“Even when consumers have exposure to employer wellness programs that target BMI, their health insurance often excludes obesity treatments,” Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, FAAP, FTOS, professor of medicine and pediatrics at the Harvard Weight Center at Harvard Medical School, told Endocrine Today. “In order to treat the more than 93 million Americans with obesity, we need to ensure that treatment options are covered by insurance companies.”
Stanford and colleagues analyzed data from 7,378 adults who completed online surveys in 2015 or 2016. Two surveys were sent out in 2015 (n = 3,878); two similar surveys were sent out 1 year later (n = 3,500). In 2015, respondents were asked whether their health insurance would help pay the cost for one of seven medical services, if needed, including bariatric surgery, weight-loss drugs, a dietitian/nutritionist or medical weight management programs; response choices were “yes,” “no” or “not sure.” The second survey targeted respondents who said their employer offered a wellness program with incentives or penalties based on BMI (n = 512); those answering “yes” were asked the question from the first survey. Two similar surveys were sent out again in 2016. Researchers used chi-square tests to analyze associations between perceptions of exposure to employer wellness programs and coverage for medical services; differences between survey years were also assessed.
Researchers found that most survey respondents reported they did not have health coverage for obesity treatments; in the first survey, 23.1% reported that they had coverage for bariatric surgery, 20.5% reported coverage for obesity medications and 23.3% reported coverage for medical weight management. Among respondents whose employers offered wellness programs, more perceived to have insurance coverage for bariatric surgery (32.9%), obesity medications (43.9%) and medical weight management (54.2%), according to the researchers.
“These results suggest consumers perceive relatively low coverage for obesity treatments by their health insurance, but respondents employed in companies with wellness programs perceive higher coverage,” the researchers wrote.
Neither the perception of coverage for obesity treatments nor exposure to wellness programs increased from 2015 to 2016.
“In the future, we need to ensure that studies capture the severe implications of untreated obesity, which are quite broad,” Stanford said. “While many of these severe implications are related to increased obesity comorbidities (ie, higher incidence of hypertension, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease, etc), we must also note that patients with obesity have a decreased quality of life, greater absenteeism from work, and higher morbidity and mortality rates.” – by Regina Schaffer
For more information:
Fatima Cody Stanford, MD, MPH, MPA, FAAP, FTOS, can be reached at the MGH Weight Center, 50 Stanford St., 4th Floor, 50-S-4-430, Boston, MA 02114; email: fstanford@mgh.harvard.edu.
Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.