CMS and NYSDOH Select Hospitals to Provide Bariatric Surgery to Family Health Plus Patients
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and the New York State Department of Health (NYSDOH) have chosen certain hospitals to perform bariatric surgery for Family Health Plus patients. Bariatric surgery is an operation that helps very overweight patients lose weight by cutting down on the amount of food digested. There are several different ways to do the operation, but they all help patients lose weight and improve such weight-related conditions as diabetes, heart disease, sleep apnea, etc.
On July 1, 2009, CMS and NYSDOH began paying for bariatric surgeries only at hospitals that meet CMS’s standards and are on the CMS list of Bariatric Specialty Centers or the NYSDOH list of Bariatric Centers of Excellence for the New York City region. GHI is required to do the same.
As of January 1, 2010, GHI authorizes and pays for bariatric surgeries only if done at approved hospitals in our network.
Which hospitals are on the list?
View the CMS list of Bariatric Specialty Centers chosen to perform bariatric surgeries for Family Health Plus members nationwide. Of these, CMS chose 35 New York State hospitals as Bariatric Specialty Centers. All 35 hospitals listed are in the GHI Family Health Plus network. Go to Find A Doctor to find a network hospital in your area.
If you have questions and you are enrolled in GHI’s Family Health Plus plan, you may call 1-877-244-4466, weekdays, 8 am to 6 pm.
