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Lifestyle-based health care decisions are a hotly contested area but are becoming increasingly discussed as stresses on the system continue to grow.
In the United Kingdom, a survey of physicians released Sunday shows that a majority feel it’s okay to deny non-emergency care to smokers and the morbidly obese. The physicians say this is due to many factors, as smoking and obesity cause other medical problems when attempting certain surgeries and procedures.
Physicians say they already routinely deny many cosmetic surgeries and fertility treatments to smokers and the obese, and even in America, these factors are used to determine eligibility for many organ transplant procedures.
Critics say this is nothing more than lifestyle rationing and tantamount to blackmail, but the health care industry say it’s the only way to reduce the skyrocketing costs of health care.
Medical associations estimate that anywhere from 20 to 30 percent of all physician visits, hospital stays and procedures are directly related to obesity and smoking. The journal Health Affairs estimates that $100 billion is spent in the U.S. annually treating diseases caused by these behaviors and that Medicare/ Medicaid pick up the tab for at least half of that cost.
As the UK’s national health system is the basis for many other countries’ systems, including the proposed changes in the U.S., the decisions made there have a ripple effect across the globe. The backlash against behavior-related health issues is just beginning and Americans can expect to see the rhetoric intensify when and if the government mandates for health care take effect.
What We Think
Rationing health care based on lifestyle
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