Employees seeking weight-loss surgery now have a new ally: Johnson & Johnson.

According to Reuters, Kevin Lobo, president of the Cincinnati, Ohio-based Ethicon Endo-Surgery unit that makes equipment used in bariatric surgery, said a lack of knowledge and education about the procedure is his biggest obstacle in getting corporate America to follow Medicare's lead in covering gastric bypasses and banding.

"We recognize that bariatric surgery is not some magic pill or quick fix," said Lobo, who addressed doctors at a three-day meeting on obesity at the Cleveland Clinic. "We have to show insurers we have the evidence and now we have to take our show on the road."

But U.S. employers are having trouble swallowing the minimum $25,000 price tag. The cost can double if complications emerge after surgery.

I've blogged about my interest in weight-loss surgery and I know I'm not alone. If J&J can help us find a way to pay for it, I'll gladly get on the gurney.

-- Amanda Barrett, amNY.com