More and more people are turning to the country to undergo bariatric surgery as an alternative to fight obesity and therefore for health reasons.
However, the cost of this procedure, which is around $ 9 to $ 12,000, is holding back most patients who qualify for it.
The coverage of this type of surgery is not included in the Health Services Plan (PDSS) of the Family Health Insurance (SFS) to be considered a cosmetic surgery.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic, between 1,000 and 1,200 procedures were performed in the country each year, the demand has been reduced this year due to the state of health emergency in the country due to viruses, he explained. Dr. Luis Betances, a specialist in bariatric surgery, a pioneer in the country and who has the greatest casuistry of such procedures.
One of the figures recently subjected to this procedure was the merenguero Fernando Villalona, operated by Betances, in Cedimat. Bariatric surgery consists of different surgical techniques or procedures that seek to decrease body weight and is an alternative to conventional treatments in patients with morbid obesity or who have different medical conditions due to being overweight.
coverage
This week, the announcer Miguel Ortega, who underwent the procedure, asked the National Health Insurance (SENASA) to cover bariatric surgery, by denouncing, through a written document, the difficulties he experienced to be able to to do so, thus joining the voices of patients and doctors who for years have been demanding this type of coverage from the Dominican Social Security System. He explained that at the time he wanted to quote a bariatric operation he had bad times with the management of Senasa insurance, which he refused to authorize coverage so that he could be operated on.
The communicator considers that due to the nature of this type of operation, which involves a substantial improvement in the levels of diabetes, hypertension and other diseases, rather than the aesthetic one, it should be covered by medical insurance in the largest possible percentage, not less than 50 percent as this operation helps prolong life. He has celebrated that the meringue player has the necessary resources to practice this operation without having to go through the traumas of depending on a medical insurance that does not cover the bariatric operation.
SDSS coverage
On the subject, the director of Senasa, Santiago Hazim, recalled that the inclusion of coverage of this procedure through social security, must be proposed and approved by the relevant bodies.
Hazim said he agrees, that under regulations and supervision, this surgery should be covered in patients who qualify for it.