Letter I sent to CT Insurance Committee

Good Morning Everyone, Here is the letter I sent to all the committee members for todays vote: To All State Representatives voting today for Insurance Coverage for Weight Loss Surgery: I am a 46 year old resident of the State of Connecticut. I am a recovering food addict. I take each day at a time. I was given the opportunity to help myself become a recovering food addict through Weight Loss Surgery. It was a diffucult choice to take and it will be a life long struggle to remain in recovery. Surgery is not a cure and not a short cut, but it has given me a chance at a longer healthier life. I am one of the lucky ones. I did not have such severe co-morbitities that I could not work (or even sleep without machinery hooked up to me) because of my weight. But I do know that along with my fellow post-ops, I became much healthier within one month of my surgery. I no longer had sleep apnea or ached so much that I couldn't sleep. I no longer breath like I ran a marathon after trying to tie my shoe laces. I have become more productive at my job and need less sick time off from work because of illnesses created by my addiction. Employers do not correlate work productivity with obesity, but they do go hand-in-hand. In addition to maybe saving someones life by voting for the inclusion of WLS, you will help make the severe obese become exemplary employees. Everything is bottom line for companies weighing out the pros and cons. After the first year of surgery, health care costs for someone who had WLS will decrease tri-fold because we most likely will not have to be monitored for: High Blood Pressure, Diabeties, Hypertension, Sleep Apnea and Joint and back Pain (and include all the prescription medications that go along with that). Alcoholics have the opportunity to completely remove alcohol from their lives. As humans we can never remove food from ours to survive. Why are they given the opportunity to heal themselves and we cannot. Will you vote to remove food advertising from tv like alcohol was. Give us a fighting chance. Weight Loss Surgery may not be a cure, but it gives us the fighting chance we need. Please vote today for inclusion. Thank You!

Excellent letter - thank you for doing your part to insure good health for those of us with obesity health issues !