Medicare will reimburse for obesity counseling, but the patient’s BMI has to be greater than 30 kg/m2; the patient has to be competent and alert, and the counseling has to be done in a primary care setting or by the primary care provider. "Medicare will cover up to 22 visits in 12 months in a staged way," Dr. Botsford said, noting that the ICD-9 code for a BMI of 30 or more is G0447. "For the first month they’ll cover once a week. The only caveat is that you cannot bill for any other services on the same day as the visit for obesity counseling."
Dr. Botsford said she had no relevant financial conflicts to disclose.