Why Your Health Plan Won’t Cover a Lobotomy

Kristen Kwiatkowski — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:40:58 +0000

From cancer treatment to breast reduction, insurance companies offer a wide array of coverage for those needing medical treatment. One such procedure that insurers will not cover is a lobotomy. Dr. Walter Freeman was the doctor responsible for bringing the lobotomy procedure to the United States in the 1930’s. It was used to potentially remedy mental illness and other disorders of the brain however the lobotomy procedure did not see much success. There are a few reasons today why insurance companies refuse to cover this type of medical procedure.

Lack of Success in the Past

Health insurers have an interest in providing insurance coverage for those procedures known to be successful. The insurance company does not want to waste time or money paying medical health professionals for treatments which are unnecessary and ineffective. Therefore, the lack of success shown to be associated with lobotomies in the past can be said to be one of the main reasons why insurance companies won’t cover this type of procedure.

Of course, this may be no surprise, but medical evidence conclusively shows that lobotomies simply do not work in preventing or treating mental illness and in fact do more harm than good in the long run. In this case, a lack of treatment success means that the insurance company will see no justification in offering coverage for this type of procedure.

Not a Necessity in Treating Mental Illness

Another reason why insurance companies do not want to cover your lobotomy is due to the lack of necessity with regard to this type of procedure. Along with the lengthy amount of research showing that these types of operations simply do not work to cure mental illness, a lobotomy is not a necessity. There are plenty of prescription drugs and counseling treatments available to help individuals with their mental illness, many of which are deemed to be highly successful.

Cited As a Barbaric Practice

The lobotomy has also been cited as a barbaric practice by many. The exact procedure is painful and questionable in legitimacy which overall tends to equate with a barbaric treatment method. As most doctors in the world refuse to perform this type of treatment method, the insurance companies are even more opposed to providing coverage for a procedure of this type.

Fraudulent Insurance Claims

Some insured individuals have even gone as far as to falsely claim that they received this type of medical treatment and falsified documents to back it up. This is just one other reason why insurance companies refuse to offer medical health coverage for a lobotomy procedure.

More Information on Lobotomies

In order to gain more insight into lobotomies and why this type of procedure has been phased out of society, an hour length show on PBS entitled “The Lobotomist” is well worth the viewing time.

References

http://www.freewebs.com/bruiseduk/lobotomy.htm