Getting the Government Involved with the National Epidemic of Fat Folk Is Not the Answer

Cato Institute’s Michael Tanner has some cogent thoughts on the issue here. From my perspective, I would suggest that you order a copy of Why We Get Fat by my highly favored science writer Gary Taubes. You will find that the teeter-totter linking of HDL and Triglycerides (pgs. 188-190) holds the key, especially for women. Gary is world class. Order this book today.

But while obesity is a real problem, the AMA’s move is actually a way for its members to receive more federal dollars, by getting obesity treatments covered under government health plans. A bipartisan group of congressmen has already seized on the AMA declaration as they push for Medicare coverage of diet drugs. Observers also expect an effort to expand Medicare reimbursement for bariatric surgery, a.k.a. stomach stapling. And there will almost certainly be pressure to mandate coverage for these things by private insurance carriers, under both state laws and the Affordable Care Act.

Medicare and some private insurers already cover bariatric surgery for people who have a body-mass index (BMI) of 35 or higher, making them morbidly obese, and who also have an obesity-related disease. Now there will be pressure to cover the procedure for those with much lower BMIs and those without related medical issues.

After the AMA decision, John Morton, treasurer of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, was almost giddy, calling the AMA decision a “tipping point” and adding that “now coverage policy must catch up to that consensus.” Since a typical bariatric surgery costs as much as $40,000, that could be interpreted as a warning for all of us to get out our wallets. In the end, we will be paying more, through either taxes or higher premiums.