STATE | ASPS Asks Utah to Accurately Define Cosmetic Surgery
ASPS has been particularly active in Utah over the past year. First, the Utah Department of Health released a rule that would limit Medicaid coverage for certain reconstructive surgeries. ASPS engaged the Department of Health multiple times in an effort to amend the rule to protect plastic surgery patients and ensure that these necessary procedures were not deemed cosmetic. Those efforts are ongoing, and the Society is committed to working with the Department of Health to reach a better solution for Medicaid patients.
More recently, the state's Department of Insurance released a rule regarding the coverage of reconstructive procedures vis-a-vis cosmetic procedures. The proposed rule defines cosmetic surgery with language that appears to equate cosmetic surgery to reconstructive surgery, and limits coverage of certain reconstructive procedures. ASPS submitted a letter to the Department of Insurance asking for amendments to the rule in order to separate the definitions of cosmetic surgery and reconstructive surgery, require coverage of complications related to a non-covered cosmetic surgery, and protect breast cancer patients who need surgeries following breast implant-associated cancer.
Utah Gov. Herbert's Administration has shown signs of willingness to discuss these changes with the medical community, and ASPS is dedicated to continuing to refine these policies to better serve plastic surgeons and their patients in the state.