May 3, 2004
Texas Blue Cross Blue Shield Coverage
(BSNS WIRE) Inamed's LAP-BAND System Approved for Plan Reimbursement
by Blue
Cross/Blue Shields of Texas, Illinois and New Mexico;
Inamed's LAP-BAND System Approved for Plan Reimbursement by Blue Cross/Blue
Shields of Texas, Illinois and New Mexico; More Than 6,800,000 New Covered
Beneficiaries
Business Editors
SANTA BARBARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--IMDC--
Inamed Corporation (Nasdaq: IMDC), a global health care
company, is pleased to announce that Blue Cross/Blue Shield Health
Plans of Texas, Illinois and New Mexico, covering over 6.8 million
lives, will now provide medical coverage and reimbursements for
implantation of the LAP-BAND(R) System for the treatment of morbid
obesity. The only exclusions from this benefit would be for companies
that have specifically excluded bariatric surgery from their employee
benefits package.
"Inamed's LAP-BAND System provides a life-saving option for the
morbidly obese that is safer, less invasive, and as effective in
weight loss resolution or improvement of obesity-related health
conditions as gastric bypass surgery," said Nick Teti, Chairman,
President and Chief Executive Officer of Inamed Corporation. "The
importance of the Blue Cross/Blue Shields of Texas, Illinois and New
Mexico providing this life-changing benefit to their customers is
clear. This procedure will save lives and enhance the quality of life
for those people that need our System."
The action of Blue Cross/Blue Shield of Texas, Illinois and New
Mexico comes shortly after three new peer-reviewed studies in the
United States showed: 1) Weight loss with the LAP-BAND System can
equal that of gastric bypass surgery; 2) Recovery time with the
LAP-BAND System is significantly less than other bariatric surgical
procedures; and 3) LAP-BAND System outcomes in the U.S. are expected
to be comparable to positive European and Australian results. All
three papers were presented at the annual meeting of the Society of
American Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Surgeons (SAGES) in Denver,
Colorado in early April.
