Legislative Efforts/Moral Equivalent of Defeat

The Insurance and Real Estate Committee, demonstrating their on-going commitment to fair and equitable access to life-saving bariatric surgery, decided to send the General Assembly a revised bariatric insurance bill. They are recommending that a STUDY COMMITTEE be formed that will report by January of 2007 on the costs and benefits to health insurers of a bariatric surgery mandate. Now, the fact that the increased health risks faced by the morbidly obese have been well-documented for years seems insufficient for the members of the Insurance and Real Estate Committee. After all, I guess it's just unclear that the $20,000 cost for an operation that will cure someone's GERD, sleep apnea, hypertension and type II diabetes can really be balanced by a post-op's 20-30 years worth of reduced prescription drug costs, reduced frequency of emergency room visits and reduced cost of further hospitalizations. Our last hope is that the members of the Public Health Committee will pass their equivalent of the eviscerated Insurance Committee bill (which is SB 579). If you haven't already, please write and call your representatives and senators and ask them to encourage their Public Health Committee colleagues to favorably report SB 579 out of committee and to the floor of the General Assembly.

I have some words that I don't think are appropriate on this forum. These aren't included though: ignorance is bliss. Jen