KSHB 41 reporter Elyse Schoenig covers the cities of Shawnee and Mission. She also focuses on issues surrounding the cost of health care, saving for retirement and personal debt. Share your story idea with Elyse.
In a world of weight loss drugs, weight loss surgeries and rising healthcare costs, many patients are figuring out what is most accessible and affordable for their own weight loss journeys.
Bonnie Marshall's weight loss journey started with a reflection.
"You come to a point to where you stare at yourself in the mirror and you know you got to make the phone call," Marshall said.
She said obesity is part of her family history. After years of weight loss programs and medication, she called St. Luke's Hospital.
"For someone at my stature a few years ago, for a permanent solution, bariatric surgery was definitely my decision," Marshall said.
Her surgery was life-changing. It was also completely covered by her insurance. She and her doctor considered all options, including weight loss drugs.
"It'll be three years this Friday," Marshall said.
She's celebrating this milestone around the same time many are thinking about the cost of their healthcare through open enrollment.
A 2022 employee benefits survey from the International Foundation of Employee Benefit Plans estimated 22% of organizations cover prescription drugs for weight loss, while 45% offered benefits to cover bariatric surgery.
"There are better policies than others out there when it comes to affordability of medications, or exercise physiology, or dietitians, or surgery," said Dr. Geoffrey Slayden.
Dr. Slayden was Marshall's surgeon at Saint Luke's. He said with each patient they go through their health history and goals before helping them decide what's best for their weight loss journey.
"A patient who is a candidate for weight loss medications often will be a patient who needs probably less weight loss than what our surgical patients would need," Dr. Slayden said.
He said they gave Marshall the tools, and that she's been working hard to use them ever since.
"I'm going to live longer for my kids," Marshall said.
When Marshall looks in the mirror today, she's proud of what she sees.
"When I look back at pictures, I'm like, 'Yeah, you did it girl,"' Marshall said.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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