Will Special Ambulances for Morbidly Obese Patients Lead to Less Affordable Health Insurance?

Obesity has become an epidemic in America, and has been blamed for a significant percentage of rising healthcare costs. In the past, ambulances have had to improvise when transporting morbidly obese patients over 500 pounds to the hospital, and companies have eaten the cost. Now, with an increasingly obese population, ambulance providers are starting to pass the increased cost onto insurers, either public or private. This may be necessary, but it will probably reduce the availability of affordable health insurance policies. As for the uninsured, patients will also have to cover the cost of an ambulance ride themselves.

It’s two-and-a-half times more expensive to transfer an extremely obese patient than one at normal weight, according to the Associated Press. Reasons for this include the need for new vehicles and helicopters with larger doors and lifts, extra-large stretchers, as well as the need to hire more emergency crew members (and have them work longer hours) to lift obese patients. Insurance companies operating in Washington and Oregon already pay increased rates to cover those extra costs, despite fat-acceptance groups considering it to be another example of weight discrimination in medical care. Other advocates of the obese, however, are appreciative of the improvements that allow them to be transported with dignity.

The cost of specialized ambulances will certainly be passed on. Increased regulation in the healthcare reform bill may prevent people from charging extremely obese patients more for a health insurance plan. Therefore, everyone’s plan will cost a little bit more.  Medicare and Medicaid are resisting increased reimbursements, but the industry is fighting for fair compensation for their services. Without it, they claim that they will be unable to provide quality care that serves the needs of a significant percentage of the nation’s people.  Promoting public health (e.g. reaching a healthy weight and not smoking) would do a lot to reduce healthcare costs, and should be part of any healthcare reform. Otherwise, the population of morbidly obese will rise from its current 5%, requiring more specialized, costly care.

(Image: NIOSH – National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health under CC 2.0)