Journal of the American College of Surgeons
The most recent articles from:
J. Am. Coll. Surg.
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In 2006, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services restricted coverage for bariatric procedures to designated high-volume Centers of Excellence. The effect of centralization of elective surgical procedures on the ability of patients to access surgery has not been studied previously. ⋯ Despite the longer travel distance required for Medicare patients, centralization of bariatric surgery to Centers of Excellence did not result in impaired access to care. In fact, in this study, an improvement in access to bariatric surgery was seen and persisted among some underserved populations.