New health law to require some obesity care

Dallas Morning News ^ | Sept. 22, 2010 | Sandra G. Boodman

[Innovative]

Provisions of the new health care overhaul law that take effect this week will require insurers to cover preventive services recommended by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force, a group of experts that assesses the effectiveness of preventive care.

[Innovative]

First it's required coverage -- guess what that will do to the insurance premiums? -- then it will be mandatory, a bureaucrat is going to tell you and your doctor what you need to do, and if you don't do it, they won't treat you -- aren't they already requiring to keep track of your body mass index (BMI)?

I think in the UK, they refuse hip replacement surgery for obese people.

I am sure there will be many people chiming in that obesity is bad for you and people should lose weight -- but at the core of this the real questions is: Should the GOVERNMENT tell you and your doctor, how you should be treated?

[netmilsmom]

I’m a big fat, fat, fatty fat, like Glenn Beck. I say “matronly”.
I don’t want to pay for someone else’s weight loss. I’d rather pay for my own and not charge insurance.

[Cloverfarm]

Rather pay for my own.

Agreed.

Also, despite my weight, my BP is like 110/70, resting pulse is 56 and fasting blood sugar is about 80. (I just had a physical)

I thought those were good numbrs despite my size.

[pgkdan]

It's only going to get worse. I got a memo from my benefits dept. this week. I'm the General Manager of a large distribution outlet and I've been told to warm my employees up to the idea of very large benefit cost increases this year so they're not shocked when the numbers come out. ( I don't yet know what those numbers will be). We've been told that in order to comply with Federal Health Care legislation we we now be able to carry our 'dependent children' on our policy up to the age of 28 and that there will no longer be a lifetime maximum benefit payout. They said that even though the company is absorbing most of the increased costs out monthly benefit deduction will be 'greatly increased'.

Gee I just love the democrats!

[WVNan]

“Fat Panels”

[DallasDeb]

Is it fair that insurances must cover treatment of alcoholism, smoking, and drug abuse, but NO coverage is provided for treatment of obesity? Does it makes sense that thousands of dollars are spent on treatment of obesity-related illness, but not one dime will go for prevention? Research is revealing many, many question about the cause of obesity, including, for example a common virus (adenovirus 36) that, in some people, creates more and larger fat cells that resist reduction in size? Drug addicts, smokers, and alcoholics can quit, cold turkey, but obese people have to eat to live. Diets are rarely sustainable, and because the obese person usually has metabolic issues, if someone has lost weight and go off the diet, they easily gain back the weight lost, and then some.

But I agree with you that the government should never interfere in the doctor/patient decision-making process.

[Vigilanteman]

Rumor has it that our outfit is going to push a high deductible plan. Nothing gets paid until you go over $2500 annually (per person). The company will contribute a $3K medical savings account to cushion the blow.

This might work fine in an outfit like ours where everybody is full time, but I don't see how it would work in an outfit with a lot of part-timers working as little as 8-10 hours in a week.