Wiki Bariatric COE question

[mjewett]

We perform bariatric surgery and are in the process of trying to obtain Bariatric Center of Excellence. I was just reading Medicare's policy on Bariatric Surgery they require surgery to be done at a facility that is a Bariatric Center of Excellence. So my question is:

Does anyone know if Medicare would pay the provider's charge, and deny only the facility's fee if we were to do bariatric surgery prior to the facility getting deemed a COE?

I'm batting this idea around, b/c a requirement for obtaining COE is meeting a certain volume of patients, which is pretty darn hard when we have to turn away patients right and left, b/c we are not a COE, yet. We might be able to get the hospital to agree to doing this temporarily, to help them move closer to becoming a COE.

Thanks for your input in advance.

 

[kingkong]

Coe

Medicare will NOT pay for bariatric surgery unless done at a center of excellence awarded by the ASMBS or ACS.