|
| |
Obesity-Related Surgery in
Pennsylvania
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE –
8/12/04
Contact: Joe Martin, Communications Director
717-232-6787 or jmartin@phc4.org
Gastric Bypass Surgeries in Pennsylvania Increased Ten-Fold in Five Years
(Harrisburg, PA, August 12, 2004) … The number of Pennsylvanians receiving
gastric bypass surgery for the treatment of severe obesity has increased
dramatically since 1999, according to figures released today by the Pennsylvania
Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4). In 2003, 6,791 gastric bypass
surgeries were performed in the state, up ten-fold from 1999, when only 674 were
performed. Between 1999 and 2003, the number of surgeons performing gastric
bypass surgery increased from 31 to 84 surgeons, and the number of facilities
increased from 26 to 49.
| Gastric bypass surgeries accounted for more than 23,000 hospital
days and
over $240 million in hospital charges in 2003, with
an average charge of $35,643 for the procedure.
During the five-year period between 1999 and 2003, hospital
charges for gastric bypass surgery totaled $585 million; 85.5% of these
surgeries were billed to commercial insurers. |
“Complications of gastric bypass surgery can be serious and can lead to
additional hospital stays,” commented Marc P. Volavka, Executive Director of
PHC4. “In the two years following the 2,684 gastric bypass surgeries that were
performed in the year 2001, there were 1,050 readmissions for conditions that
may have been related to the initial procedure. The hospital charges for these
readmissions totaled more than $22.6 million.”
Obesity-Related Surgery in Pennsylvania is the second of PHC4’s new Research
Briefs, which are periodic web-based publications that examine health care
topics relevant to public policy and public interest. The Pennsylvania Health
Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) is an independent state agency charged with
collecting, analyzing and reporting information that can be used to improve the
quality and restrain the cost of health care in Pennsylvania. Copies of this
brief are free and are available on the Council’s Web site at www.phc4.org or by
calling PHC4 at (717) 232-6787.
|
