A Third of The World Is Now Obese; Why Do Health Insurances Skimp on Covering Weight Loss Services?
Rock Hill, SC (PRWEB) May 30, 2014 -- Insurance does not cover weight loss services. Does that mean obesity, as a medical condition, is not serious enough to be treated?
There are multiple reasons why insurance does not cover the treatment of obesity.
1. There has been a fairly sudden rise in obesity
The prevalence of obesity has risen in the last 50 years, and has accelerated since the 1990s. So this is a fairly new, emerging disease and it is just getting noticed now.
2. Obesity is perceived differently than other diseases
More than half of overweight people think their weight is all right. Many obese people think they have above normal weight but they do not believe they have an unhealthy weight. Most do not think obesity is a disease and that it need to be treated.
3. It is a costly repair
Covering weight management services are costly, especially weight loss surgery, and its related complications are expensive to treat. So why give when no one is asking for it?
4. The lack of standard treatment guidelines... until now
Until now, there were no standardized guidelines to treat obesity as a disease. Only recently in 2013, the American Medical Association declared obesity a disease, and the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association and The Obesity Society established the Obesity Treatment Guidelines in November 2013.
5. The lack of healthcare providers having the skills to treat obesity
Weight management service providers are still less than a few thousand, and are unable to serve the 100 plus million people who suffer from overweight and obesity related conditions.
Everyone is taking part in uprooting obesity before it firms its grip on society. Ace Medical Weight Loss Center doctors have started a physician website, http://www.slimplatesystem.org, to train physicians and healthcare providers on how to add or start a weight loss practice. They share their knowledge and experience with their fellow physicians on how to help patients lose weight. Physicians can enroll on the website to get help in jump-starting weight loss services in their existing practice.
“Physicians are in the best position to help their patients who struggle with unhealthy weight. We try to help physicians in both the business and medical aspect of weight loss so they can create a viable weight loss practice. We are thrilled by the overwhelmingly positive response from our fellow physicians,” says Dr. Grewal, a practicing physician and winner of ‘Innovation in Healthcare Award’ from Charlotte Business Journal.
Media inquiries: 803 325 1111 or press(at)acemedicalgroup(dot)org.
Aye Myo, Ace Medical Weight Loss Center, http://www.slimplatesystem.com, +1 (803) 325-2236, [email protected]
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