One in three say obese should pay for own health care

[Kevin1708]

One in three say obese should pay for own health care

By Max Bartram | Posted on 121doc.co.uk ~ Monday March 14, 2011 [http://www.121doc.co.uk/news/obese-health-care-5205.html]

A study, commissioned by a health insurance company, suggests that nearly a third of Britons believe obese people should pay for their own health care.
In the survey of 2,000 people around 69% (1,380) agreed that obese people, as well as those with health worries caused by smoking or alcohol, should pay for these ‘self inflicted’ health problems.
Just 19% said that the NHS should shoulder responsibility for these health problems.
More than half of respondents said that obesity was one of the greatest health challenges facing the UK.
The survey comes as the coalition government is working towards a radical reshuffle of the NHS. Obesity-related medical costs include the costs of surgery for morbidly obese individuals, which can either take the form of gastric band surgery or gastric bypass surgery. While bariatric surgery can be costly, doctors say it is less expensive than repeatedly treating patients in the long run.
Obesity is often caused by over-eating and a lack of exercise. However, there is evidence to suggest that some individuals are pre-disposed to obesity for genetic reasons. Scientists have established that a gene labelled the ‘FTO’ gene is associated with a higher likelihood of obesity. People born with this gene may find it harder to avoid obesity and lose weight. As such, it could be argued that obesity is not always a ‘self inflicted’ problem.
Current estimates suggest that one in four people in Britain is obese or overweight. A person is said to be obese when their body mass index (BMI) is above 30. Morbid obesity is classified as having a BMI above 40.

 

[lamornamiss]

Shall we start charging smokers, drug addicts and alcoholics as well oh and anyone who wants IVF people who drive and are in a crash etc..... shall I go on and on

 

[msunique]

My thoughts exactly Wendy

 

[mandym1]

Well said Wendy. x

 

[goingtobehappy]

The real shame is the NHS won't look after us all anyway.

 

[tkdlass]

SIGH another ignorant view point because it cant be because some overweight people have ILLNESSES that make them overweight.

WE all must be lazy overeatting slobs that deserve no help.

Yeah , right.

 

[Deets]

dont get me started Kevin!!

 

[Kevin1708]

Hey, don't shoot the messenger xxxx

 

[MrsSAFC]

I do pay for me own health care....£550 per month tax i pay and £278 NI per month so i am entitled to the NHS care i believe along with everyone else (oooo boils me blood!!!) working me backside off and have to pay 40% to them!!!!

just because i am overweight doesnt mean i am entitled to anything less from the country and government! they quite happy to have me money and send me hubby away to afghan and other places for them....... you know we even pay for prescriptions!!! they dont in scotland or wales... but bloody england they do...

(sorry for the rant)

 

[Kevin1708]

Please feel free to rant .... and I suspect you have held back ! ! We all know about the NHS treating those from outside the UK, those who have never paid a penny in but we had best not mention that! I have to go private despite paying an enormous amount of tax and NI and taking nothing further from society to speak of . . .

 

[goingtobehappy]

I'm with you MrsSAFC, come on Kevin, get the details up here on the postcode lottery, that makes me mad.
I'm about to reach TOTM so my inabilty to accept the unfairness of it all should be expected

 

[MrsSAFC]

its not that i know people need help but dont penalise me or anyone for being over weight! i dont go robbing people, i abide by the law i pay everything out of my own hard earned cash... i dont know its just deflating at times

 

[dottychic]

Arrggggggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhh........Im so sick of ignorant people, what do they think we pay tax for??? Just to pay for some toff's to build their ducks and fish nice little summer houses? I cant even imagine the amount of tax I paid whilst I was smoking 80 cigarettes a day for approx 30 years!! I agree with Wendy, we should start paying for obesity surgery when we are considered near death enough to need it only when people who drink pay for liver treatments and the cost of falling over drunk or fighting etc etc and drug addicts pay for all the medical costs associated with that..It makes my blood boil!!!
Thanks Kevin, I feel better now XX

 

[Kevin1708]

Foreign health tourists face government crackdown


March 28, 2011 By: Dr Search- Principal Consultant at the Search Clinic Category: Doctors, Health, NHS, National Health Service, Uncategorized, Waiting Times, red tape

The government is putting in place measures to prevent the National Health Service from becoming an international health service, and is undertaking a wider review of current practice in charging non-residents for care to create a fairer system.

Following consultations last year on a package of proposals on charging visitors for NHS hospital care, the government has decided to instill tougher measures in a bid to tackle health tourism, a practice by which some patients come to the UK to access healthcare without paying, costing the country millions of pounds every year.

One such measure involves preventing anyone owing the health service £1,000 or more from staying or entering the UK until their debt is paid off, and as such the NHS will be expected to pass details of foreign patients who have failed to pay for treatment on to the UK Border Control Agency.

According to the government, this action alone should capture 94% of outstanding charges owed to the health service.

In other changes for NHS patients in England, the time UK residents can stay abroad and keep their entitlement to free hospital treatment has been extended from three to five months.

In addition, the small number of failed asylum seekers co-operating on registered Home Office support schemes will be exempt from charges, while all unaccompanied children under local authority care will also be guaranteed free hospital treatment.

However, the government feels that the existing system is still too complex, generous and inconsistently applied, and so has launched a wider review of practice.

This, it says, will look at changing the residency criteria for treatment, whether GPs should and other ex-hospital services should charge non-residents, and whether visas should be dependent on health insurance, in order to ensure that the system is both fair and affordable.

According to health minister Anne Milton, the changes will “begin the process of developing a clearer, robust and fairer system of access to free NHS services which our review of the charging system will complete”, with the aim of creating a system that “maintains the confidence of the public while preventing inappropriate free access and continuing our commitment to human rights and protecting vulnerable groups”.
_________________________________________________

 

[MrsSAFC]

exactly dotty! everything is taxed to high heaven and back! these people have the cheek to question about the care of overweight people and if they should "pay" for it.... people pay enough and now we have to get this country out of debt.... whose debt is it? certainly not mine thats for sure!!!

 

[Janeywanttoloosealot]

where do we draw the line. So if an athelete has to have a knee replacement when they are older because of wear and tare should we make him pay. Its the same thing we allk abuse our bodies in some way or other.

 

[Big Matt]

I'm with you all !, both myself and my wife have worked full time since we left school (over 20 years) both paid full Tax and NI, council tax etc, never clained anything, I don't think what we have had back from the govt even amounts to 10% of what we have paid in, so who's benefiting eh ? I don't feel at all bad about having my RNY on the NHS, in the long run it's going to cost the NHS less as we are less likely to have long term health problems so it makes sense - Nuff Sed !:copon:

 

[Windy Pants]

I think sports playing men/women should pay for the treatment, after all thats self inflicted as well

 

[TessG]

I have no problem with us fat people having to pay for our own care as long as my family don't have to pay for smokers, drug addicts, sports people, skiers, people who have children etc etc.

We all do things that damage our bodies. The NHS is supposed to be a care organisation.- doesn't seem very caring to me to be deciding which groups of 'self harmers' are entitled to help!

 

[TR_Wolf]

This "one in three" statistic... you can imagine the question they've asked people can't you? "Do you think obese people, smokers and alcoholics should have to pay for their own treatment?" Who would say no to such a loaded question?

Also you can't become accidentally or medically alcoholic or a smoker, wheras you can become obese for a whole host of reasons, but when the media mentions "obese people wanting weight loss surgery" the automatic image is gigantic fat people sitting at home shoving crisps and cakes and kebabs in their faces whilst doing nothing about it, sitting on the couch watching TV, and having never tried to diet or lose weight or exercise, and having become fat solely due to stuffing themselves stupid.

Pfft.