Gastric Bypass Surgery and Insurance
SANCHEZ: Welcome back. I'm Rick Sanchez here in the world headquarters of the CNN NEWSROOM. You probably heard stories like this one that I'm about to share with you. People who have insurance are rejected by their provider for some type of treatment or some type of procedure. This time it's about a 22-year-old man who weighs more than 600 pounds. It's a unique story, we know. But he says that he could die if he doesn't get gastric bypass. He also says his insurance is not going to foot the bill for him. Should he get it? Well, here's Elisa Jaffe from affiliate KOMO in Washington State.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's always been a chunky little monkey. He never had a chance. You know, it's like he never had a chance.</s>ELISA JAFFE, KOMO REPORTER (voice-over): Jake Paikai doesn't own a scale big enough to handle his weight. Best guess, he's 650 pounds. The 22-year-old can't reach his own shoes, sit in most chairs or fit behind a steering wheel.</s>JAKE PAIKAI, PROBLEMS WITH OBESITY: I can't drive. I can't go on planes. I can't step on a bus. There are very few cars I can ride in.</s>JAFFE: Jake's mom, Mimi, drives him to class at Pacific Lutheran University. She knows what it's like to be morbidly obese. She weighed more than 500 pounds before her stomach stapling.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Every night I go to sleep, and I wonder if he's gonna be there tomorrow.</s>JAFFE: Jake worries tomorrow might not come.</s>PAIKAI: You know, I really can only go about 20 feet before I'm completely winded.</s>JAFFE: And together with his friends, he's asking for the public's help.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is the homepage of mybypasssurgery.com.</s>JAFFE: They've launched a foundation called mybypasssurgery.</s>PAIKAI: I need help. And obese -- and other obese need help so let's do something about it. The goal they say is raising tens of thousands of dollars to cover gastric bypass for Jake, and eventually others who can't afford the pricy procedure.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: We've got great insurance and it's not covered.</s>JAFFE: At college, Jake has a 3.9 GPA. But weight stands in his way of bigger dreams. Jake doesn't just want to walk. He says he wants to run.</s>PAIKAI: Run through this life with the same kind of hopes and dreams that other folks have.</s>JAFFE: In Tacoma, Alisa Jaffe, KOMO 4 News.</s>SANCHEZ: Also, what do you think? Men, we're getting a ton of reaction on those. Let me take you right to the Twitter board here. "If he has a medical condition that makes him obese and has tried various diets and plans recommended by his doctor, then, yes." But down here, look at Viking. I'll bring it right up. Viking21, "I think it's case-by-case. First 600 pounds guy needs to prove that he's tried reputable weight loss programs. Weight watcher." And then JCSpears (ph) says, "Look, since his health is at risk, I think they should." Now, Elizabeth is going to be joining us in just a little bit. She's going to be talking about this, and discussing with us what are some of the preventive measures that might help, might actually help the rest of us save money by covering someone like this because of what he would cost to all of us down the lines, speaking communally. Also, we've got a lot going on in the next hour of the CNN NEWSROOM, including more on the gastric bypass discussion. First, let's start with that as a matter of fact. Elizabeth, you there?</s>COHEN: Hi, Rick. We'll be continuing discussion in this hour about gastric bypass surgery and whether insurance should pay for it. And also would health care reform change anything? Would it force insurance companies to pay for it? I'll have that at the top of the hour.</s>POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM: I'm Poppy Harlow in New York. If you're thinking about buying a foreclosed property, you got to move pretty quickly. People are snapping them up, sometimes in less than even a day. But, of course, there are a number of risks you have to look out for. We'll explain at the top of the hour.</s>LISOVICZ: And I'm Susan Lisovicz at the New York Stock Exchange, where the Dow is trying to rally back from its biggest loss in nearly two months. I'll have the numbers on that and those connected to the biggest credit card breach in U.S. history. More on that, Rick, in the next hour.</s>SANCHEZ: All right. We'll look forward to it, and that's the web. Thanks, everybody. Two lawmakers who have a say in what type of health care plan if any passes Congress face off right here in the NEWSROOM. We're going to have one from the left and we're going to have one from the right. And they're going to talk about the public option up for debate.