The Money Issue Of Obesity
Written by Rupert Kircz | Wednesday, 01 July 2009 | There are 0 comments
common sense does not always prevail and hard cash really does move mountains
The American people tend only to get tough on obesity when it starts to hit their pockets! A recent example of this is the company American Medical Response who provide ambulance services to many different American states saying that people weighing over a certain limit will be made to pay more for their ambulance ride.
Mr. Ken Keller from American Medical Response explained that any patients who weighed more than 350lb.would be asked to pay a considerable surcharge on the normal rates applicable. The normal rate of $629 would rise to almost double at $1172 when the 350lb. limit was hit. He explained that this rise was to take into consideration the extra manpower required and the stronger equipment which would be needed.
The extra charges coming into force are likely to be the beginning of a trend which may well put an extra financial burden of health care for obese people. Many obese people are completely unaware of the extra money that they spend every year because of their weight. They pay more in health insurance and medical bills as well as losing out because of employment discrimination because of negative perceptions about their weight.
The American obesity problem has got to the point where it cannot be ignored any longer and normal weight individuals feel that by being made to pay extra for services to subsidise the same services for obese people the system is unfair.
This does raise important questions about medical rights and whether obesity should be considered to be an illness or whether it should be considered to be a lifestyle choice. The other thing worth considering is that by placing extra financial burdens on obese people you could actually be helping them to take stock of their situation and lose weight.
Ukmedix News has seen research which shows that individuals who are given cash incentives to lose weight, quit smoking or improve their health overall are more likely to respond than just being explained the health benefits.
While it should be obvious that your health is far more valuable than money unfortunately common sense does not always prevail and hard cash really does move mountains, (no pun intended) when it comes to getting obese people to modify their lifestyles and eating patterns.
