News You Can Use: Medicare to stop covering weight-loss surgery for diabetics

Medicare officials said this week the government intends to stop covering weight-loss surgery to help fight diabetes, Workforce Management reports.

Although the agency currently covers such surgery for all Type 2 diabetics, the threshold for coverage will shift to those with a body mass index of 35 or higher, an indicator of severe or morbid obesity, according to Workforce.

The story is significant because, as the nation's largest health care payer, Medicare can throw its weight around (no pun intended) and strongly influence what services/procedures other health insurers will cover.