I hae heard this put forward often that if you don 't have health insurance then go to the ER they have to treat you. NO they don't. Read the signs, they only have to treat you if you are in labor or have a medical emergency. I also know that several of the local hospitals require you to pay before treatment.

I have heard lots of people put down universal care, and most of them are already getting government insurance. How about letting the rest of us have a chance at getting something too. Unless you are under 18, over 65, or have somekind of extreme medical disability medicare is impossible to get. I wish I could get on it, my daughter is on it and it is the best insurance I have ever seen. I can't buy insurance that good.

I just want to give you a :hug:. You've already received alot of good advice here. I too, agree, and say keep your insurance at this point and just work towards your goal of getting to your ideal weight.

But I just also wanted to say that insurance companies, in general, are the biggest sham known to man. Ask any Floridian about the crock of &%&*$ being ran as the homeowners insurance industry down there, or anyone that has been driving for 5, 10, 20 years accident free, get into one wreck and their premiums increase 10%, 20%....and health insurance is the worst of them all. I have seen TONS of information about the BMI and had it is, generally, an INACCURATE predictor of health. There are many people with an "ideal" (whatever that is) BMI with alot of health problems, and there are many whose BMI exceeds what is "the norm" with no health problems. Many reputable doctors (actually even the last 4 doctors I have gone to) told me how much more important waist to hip ratio is as a predictor of current/future health problems over BMI. However, they do agree that after a certain weight then 'yes' your weight becomes a precipitating factor. My current doctor says they usually see this in patients 250 pds+. But the whole industry just steams me! :mad:

Now I won't get into a debate over this socialized healthcare until I fully understand the plan b/c I have heard/read some extremely negative aspects of what is being proposed and as always with our government, all that glitters ain't gold!

The Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act (EMTALA) requires ERs to examine you if you request it, to determine if you have an emergency condition. They do not then have to provide routine care if it is not an emergency. And even if it is an emergency and they treat you, they are then still allowed to bill you for it. It requires them to treat you, but not for everything, but not for free.

I am one who cannot get insurance. I don't want a handout from the government nor do I want to pay higher taxes to get universal government supplied insurance, I just want to be able to buy insurance. I'm willing to pay more because of my weight. I had it for 12 years when I was employed with a corporation, but as a self-employed person you have to have ALWAYS been in perfect health or you are out of luck. I think simply forcing insurance companies to offer insurance to all would help a great deal.

Honestly, I think this is the perfect motivation to lose weight. Not only will you be saving money, you'd also be getting healthy.

Believe me, I feel your pain. I'm worried about having to get my own insurance (my parents are covering me now) because i had thyroid cancer 2.5 years ago. It's gone, but insurance companies probably won't think so.


It's not just overweight people who are denied. Smokers, people who drink too much, people with cancer, diabetes, etc.

Basically, be grateful that you can change your weight and get healthy. I can't change the fact that I had cancer. No matter how healthy I get, it's like a huge red stain on my medical records. If I weigh 120 and run marathons, insurance companies can still deny me coverage. And I should also mention that thyroid cancer is pretty much unavoidable. I didn't get it as a result of my actions, if that makes sense.