I was watching a tv show called New Amsterdam and a doctor had a patient that had overcome obesity. But the problem was the insurance wouldn’t pay for the removal of the excess skin (the patient was considering self harm due to the emotional problems the excess skin was causing her regarding her self image, and her extra skin kept giving her rashes and getting infected). The doctor was frustrated there was nothing he could do for his patient to get insurance to cover it (she couldn’t afford it on her own). He compared the situation to those with breast cancer: insurance will pay to take care of the cancer AND to get implants put in. But for obesity, the insurance will pay to take care of the medicine for the obesity but Not for the excess skin that results. Both the implants and the excess skin are cosmetic procedures as a result of a disease. So why is one different than the other when it comes to what insurance will/will not pay for?

I thought this was an interesting comparison. What do you think about this? Should insurance also cover the removal of the excess skin for those who have overcome diabetes since they cover breast implants for those who have overcome cancer? Or not?