What happened on November 4th at the MCAC Hearing?
The Committee had two sets of questions. One set dealt with the scientific evidence for bariatric surgery in the absence of comorbid conditions; the other in the presence of comorbid conditions. CMS asked the American Society for Bariatric Surgery (ASBS) to assemble a panel of experts to make about an hour-long presentation. Then, others testified by brief periods of time to address the committee. The committee then asked questions of the presenters and of each other before moving to take votes on the specific issues. What was the outcome? First, the committee dismissed the set of questions dealing with bariatric surgery in the absence of comorbid conditons. The committee was persuaded that surgeons follow the 1991 NIH Consensus Conference protocol, which provides surgery to (a) persons with a BMI > 40 and (b) persons with a BMI > 35 with comorbid conditions. Therefore, there were virtually no studies in persons without a comorbid condition. The committee then considered a series of qu
