Bariatric Surgery : Here’s all You Should Know About
As per a report published by the NCBI in February 2020, the prevalence of obesity among Indians is slated to double by 2040 from its present numbers. This forecast puts obesity among men and women at 9.5% and 13.9%, respectively.
With this sustained rise in obesity, the prevalence of the chronic ailments associated with this condition like diabetes and heart diseases is also expected to increase among the general populace.
Nonetheless, to prevent such comorbidities from arising, one can choose to undergo bariatric surgery to treat obesity. In this regard, the easy availability of health card online has considerably boosted the accessibility of such surgeries among individuals in recent times.
Following is an elaboration of what a bariatric surgery entails, its benefits, and finally how one can afford it without putting a dent in their pockets.
What does bariatric surgery encompass?
In a layperson’s terms, bariatric surgery makes alterations to the digestive system to treat obesity.
Obesity is a condition that arises when an individual’s Body-Mass Index or BMI exceeds 30. In case of severe obesity, when one’s BMI exceeds 35, diet and exercise can be ineffectual in treating the condition, thus necessitating bariatric surgery.
There are several types of procedures included in the purview of bariatric surgery – gastric bypass, gastric sleeve surgery, biliopancreatic diversion, etc.
While this type of surgery can be considered a prerequisite for many, especially to prevent more serious chronic illnesses, most insurance policies do not cover the cost of the same. This makes it difficult for patients to bear the expense from out of their pockets. However, nowadays, with the advent of health card online, paying for the surgery has become significantly hassle-free.
What are the benefits of bariatric surgery?
Bariatric surgery helps to enhance weight loss by reducing one’s stomach storage capacity and limiting his/her food intake. Apart from this, it can also be beneficial in the following ways –
- The surgery can effectively treat obese individuals with Type 2 diabetes.
- It alleviates the chances of developing coronary and peripheral heart diseases, alongside reducing the risk of strokes.
- Achieving a normal BMI can effectively allow individuals suffering from sleep apnea to do away with the usage of CPAP machines.
- Bariatric surgery helps relieve the pressure on one’s joints due to excessive weight. It facilitates improved mobility by reducing chronic joint pain.
- It can be effective in treating infertility.
- Individuals often suffer from mental health disorders due to body image issues. Undergoing bariatric surgery and inducing weight loss is often effective to treat such disorders.
Thus, this particular surgery can offer individuals variegated benefits for both their physical and mental health. Nonetheless, since this procedure is not particularly inexpensive, the resulting financial burden often discourages patients from considering it as a viable treatment procedure.
Recently, however, with financial institutions introducing EMI health cards, bearing the expenses of this surgery has become significantly easier.
What is a health EMI card?
Health EMI cards allow users to convert their medical into easy no-cost EMIs, which can be paid over a tenor of their choosing. Individuals can swipe this card at any hospital, pharmacy, dental care clinic, diagnostic centre, slimming and wellness centres, etc. and convert their bills into smaller, easily payable amounts.
This health EMI card is especially useful to bear expenses of procedures like bariatric surgeries, given that they are mostly not covered under health insurance policies. Furthermore, this card can be availed by anyone without having to adhere to elaborate eligibility compliance. For instance, the Bajaj Finserv Health EMI Network Card can be availed by any of the NBFC’s existing customers, without fulfilling any additional eligibility criteria.
Individuals who are not an existing customer can also enjoy the benefits of this health card by completing KYC registration and submitting the NACH mandate. Those individuals can go through this quick guide-
How to avail the health EMI card?
Individuals can apply for this card by following the steps below –
Step 1: Visit the NBFC’s official website and the designated page for health EMI card.
Step 2: Navigate to and click the tab marked “Get it now”.
Step 3: Verify your credentials with the mobile number registered with this NBFC.
Step 4: Pay the required purchase fee.
Step 5: The digital health card online application process will be completed with your card issued immediately.
New customers can avail a health EMI card simply by visiting any of the institution’s partner facilities.
Thus, with easy availability and nominal purchase fee, this health EMI card makes for the most convenient option when it comes to financing procedures like bariatric surgery. Few of the other procedures that can be paid for by utilising this EMI card include general surgery, stem cell treatment, diagnostic care, IVF treatment, cosmetic surgery, among others.