In today's paper: Fat people cheaper to treat, study says

A most interesting article... Maybe this will shut a few of those "health-freak" folks up who go on and on and on about how much fat people cost the health care industry!  Keep a copy of this handy to give those folks!!!! I'm going round and round with BCBS... I have a one-person business group policy I have to jump through hoops to keep each year.  They tell me "you need our individual non-business personal policy... your rate will be much better."  So last year I applied as they told me to do.  The agent was speechless when I called him back and he pulled up my quote. So what was THAT monthly premium?  A little over $2000 A MONTH!! So this year, (in Jan) I went through the process again.  Surely as I am healthier (and quit smoking 3 years ago next month), reason will take over.  So what was this "new better rate" this year??? A little over $2100 A MONTH! (Not a typo.)  My current one-person bizz policy went up from $426/mo. in 2007 to $526/mo. starting Feb 1, 2008! (And that's a 60/40 pay, not the 80/20 I used to be able to afford.)  I thought that was outrageous but gee, it looks like a real bargain beside this "new better policy." I had to request in writing to the mysterious underwriters (not available by phone) why such a silly rate. I got my letter yesterday with the following reasons: WLS/obesity (OK, so I'm getting healthier) Depression-I have not seen a PSYC for depression in almost FIFTEEN years! High Blood Pressure-have not been on any BP meds since late 2004(and that was samples for a short term BP problem) and my medical records have documentation of mostly 120/70 BPs since that time! Excuse me while I VOMIT when I see the "non-profit" BCBS pays their CEO millions in "bonus pay" every year while saying that bonus has "no impact on our customer premiums!"  Yeah, right! I cannot wait to respond to these mystery folks about these false issues that I have and am being treated for depression and have and am being treated for HB pressure.  They cannot prove these allegations and I may be headed to pursuing a case with the NC Insurance Commission.  I'm going to be sure an include a copy of THIS article!!! I despise BCBS!  Yes, they approved my WLS, but they are giving me pure hell on the side! Published: Feb 05, 2008 05:03 PM Fat people cheaper to treat, study says By MARIA CHENG, AP Medical Writer LONDON - Preventing obesity and smoking can save lives, but it doesn't save money, researchers reported Monday. It costs more to care for healthy people who live years longer, according to a Dutch study that counters the common perception that preventing obesity would save governments millions of dollars.

"It was a small surprise," said Pieter van Baal, an economist at the Netherlands' National Institute for Public Health and the Environment, who led the study. "But it also makes sense. If you live longer, then you cost the health system more."

In a paper published online Monday in the Public Library of Science Medicine journal, Dutch researchers found that the health costs of thin and healthy people in adulthood are more expensive than those of either fat people or smokers.

Van Baal and colleagues created a model to simulate lifetime health costs for three groups of 1,000 people: the "healthy-living" group (thin and non-smoking), obese people, and smokers. The model relied on "cost of illness" data and disease prevalence in the Netherlands in 2003.

The researchers found that from age 20 to 56, obese people racked up the most expensive health costs. But because both the smokers and the obese people died sooner than the healthy group, it cost less to treat them in the long run.

On average, healthy people lived 84 years. Smokers lived about 77 years, and obese people lived about 80 years. Smokers and obese people tended to have more heart disease than the healthy people.

Cancer incidence, except for lung cancer, was the same in all three groups. Obese people had the most diabetes, and healthy people had the most strokes. Ultimately, the thin and healthy group cost the most, about $417,000, from age 20 on.

The cost of care for obese people was $371,000, and for smokers, about $326,000.

The results counter the common perception that preventing obesity will save health systems worldwide millions of dollars.

"This throws a bucket of cold water onto the idea that obesity is going to cost trillions of dollars," said Patrick Basham, a professor of health politics at Johns Hopkins University who was unconnected to the study. He said that government projections about obesity costs are frequently based on guesswork, political agendas, and changing science.

"If we're going to worry about the future of obesity, we should stop worrying about its financial impact," he said.

Obesity experts said that fighting the epidemic is about more than just saving money.

"The benefits of obesity prevention may not be seen immediately in terms of cost savings in tomorrow's budget, but there are long-term gains," said Neville Rigby, spokesman for the International Association for the Study of Obesity. "These are often immeasurable when it comes to people living longer and healthier lives."

Van Baal described the paper as "a book-keeping exercise," and said that governments should recognize that successful smoking and obesity prevention programs mean that people will have a higher chance of dying of something more expensive later in life.

"Lung cancer is a cheap disease to treat because people don't survive very long," van Baal said. "But if they are old enough to get Alzheimer's one day, they may survive longer and cost more."

The study, paid for by the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports, did not take into account other potential costs of obesity and smoking, such as lost economic productivity or social costs.

"We are not recommending that governments stop trying to prevent obesity," van Baal said. "But they should do it for the right reasons."  Your comments??