Surprise surprise! Guess who dropped their IQ testing program!
Insurer ends IQ test for obesity surgery BlueCross official: Rule misunderstood
By CLAUDIA PINTO
Staff Writer
BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee dropped a requirement that enrollees wanting weight-loss surgery take an IQ test, after outcry from an advocacy group for obese people and others.
However, the health insurance company says that the true intent of the policy has been misunderstood and that's why it was eliminated Friday.
"It was to help us to evaluate the level of support the patient would need after surgery," said Mary Thompson, BlueCross spokeswoman. Thompson said there was never a passing score that had to be met to get the surgery. And, she said, no one was ever turned down for the surgery because of the IQ test.
BlueCross began requiring IQ screenings last spring. The move has been attacked by the Obesity Action Coalition, a Florida-based nonprofit organization that seeks to provide education and advocacy for people with obesity.
James Zervios, the director of communications for the coalition, could not be immediately reached on Friday. However, he blasted the policy in a recent interview with Fox News. "This is a blatant discrimination against those affected by obesity who are trying to access care, Zervios said. "For people going through the process now it's yet another hurdle to jump to access treatment."
An estimated 177,600 Americans underwent weight loss surgery last year, according to the American Society for Bariatric Surgery. That's quadruple the number of such operations performed in 2000.
Tennesseans especially struggle with their weight. The state's residents were ranked the sixth-heaviest in the nation in a 2006 report by Trust for America's Health. Roughly 26.6 percent of Tennesseans are considered to be obese.
Thompson said she's unsure how many people were subjected to the IQ screening. She said that BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee doesn't even cover weight-loss surgery. She said the company processes the claims only if a patient's employer covers it.
Obesity Surgery IQ test
how can they get away with this?
that was the dumbest rule I have ever heard, literally
Linear Mode
