Do bariatric surgery restrictions improve outcomes?

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – A Medicare policy limiting where people can undergo weight-loss surgery to so-called "centers of excellence" was not responsible for reducing complications from the procedures, according to a new study. In 2006, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) said it would only pay for bariatric surgery done at hospitals that had certain equipment and medical teams in place and were certified by the American College of Surgeons or the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS). …