Health care Initiatives

Yesterday on the front page of the Washington Post was an article about the new administration's plans to overhaul the healthcare system. The article pointed out that despite the enormous per capita expenditures we make on healthcare, we have a very bad system, ranking poorly on infant mortality rates, obesity rates etc. The article went in to further explain that one of the important changes tobe enacted in any new system is to focus on disease prevention and wellness programs.

This made me think of how currently insurance companies cover weight loss programs. Or should I say, how they do NOT cover weight loss programs. Often, a new prospective patient will call us about the program and ask about insurance coverage for our program. We are always honest and tell them that perhaps their firts visit will be covered but most likely not the entire program or even a % of the entire program.

These same companies will pay for the treatment of heart attacks, strokes, infections from diabetes complications, breast/colon/pancreatic cancer treatments...yet, efforts to PREVENT these entities are not covered. Does this make sense? I would think that the insurers would save tremendous amounts of money by preventing the disease states associated with weight problems. Moreover, expenditures on medicines would be much less as well.

On a personal level, your decision to lose weight will ultimately save you lots of money from lost wages due to medical complications, paying for less meds, etc. Your decision to invest in your own health is the best investment you can make.