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News
Bariatric surgery among Medicare patients has dropped nearly 65% over the past decade — and the slide started well before COVID-19 or GLP-1 drugs entered the picture. A new study finds that long-standing access barriers, pandemic disruptions, and the rise of weight-loss medications have compounded the decline. Experts warn that surgery must remain a viable, informed option for patients with obesity.
Bariatric surgery among Medicare beneficiaries has plummeted nearly 65% over the past decade, falling from 47.1 procedures to just 16.6 per 100,000 beneficiaries between 2014 and 2024 — and the trend was already underway long before COVID-19 or GLP-1 medications reshaped the obesity treatment landscape, according to a research letter published in JAMA Surgery.
Researchers from the University of Michigan conducted a national interrupted time-series analysis and identified three distinct phases of decline: a steady ~3% annual drop from 2014–2019, a sharp 29.4% plunge in 2020 due to the pandemic, and a renewed 23.1% yearly decline from 2022–2024 coinciding with expanded GLP-1 coverage. Notably, pandemic-era deferrals never recovered — they became permanent cancellations, disproportionately affecting older, sicker Medicare patients.
By the Numbers:
Why it matters: As GLP-1 coverage expands under Medicare, experts caution that bariatric surgery — a proven, effective intervention — risks becoming inaccessible by default rather than by informed patient choice. Preserving surgical access is critical for patients who may not respond to or tolerate medications.
