Bill Summary: SB00204

• Defines severe obesity as a body mass index greater than 40, or 35 or more with comorbid conditions including cardiopulmonary disease, diabetes, hypertension, or sleep apnea.

• Requires individual and group health insurance policies to cover surgical procedures for severe obesity treatment, including gastric bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and duodenal switch surgery, effective January 1, 2021.

• Limits coverage requirement to procedures recognized by the National Institutes of Health, American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, and American College of Surgeons as providing long-term weight loss.

• Mandates that covered procedures must be consistent with treatment guidelines issued by the National Institutes of Health as applied to the insured individual.

• Coverage must be subject to the same terms and conditions as all other benefits covered under the insurance policy.