There was an excellent 'letter to the editor' in the Belton, MO Journal. It indicates there is a lady in Pierce City, MO who is committed to putting pressure on our elected representatives to pressure insurance companies to cover surgery for morbidly obese people.
I've tried to cut and paste the letter, but didn't have any luck. So... guess I'll have to re-type the whole thing. Here goes...
"Dear Editor,
There are thousands of Missourians that are morbidly obese and need gastric bypass surgery to literally save their lives and yet most insurance companies will not cover the procedure. It seems like insurance companies would rather continue to pay for medicine and treatment for all the complications that morbidly obese people have such as; type 2 diabetes, sleep apneas, high blood pressure, cholesterol problems, back and joint pain, asthma and other complications, than pay for the cure. With gastric bypass surgery, the complications can go away.
Morbidly obese is defined as 100 pounds over your ideal body weight. We morbidly obese people did not ask for our fate, it is a disease and, it is hereditary, and it is caused by emotional problems. People are not morbidly obese just because they 'over ate.' Only closed minded and non understanding people would say this.
All the morbidly obese people in the United States should make insurance companies step up and over this medically necessary surgery.
There are 5 states in the US that have passed laws that make it mandatory that insurance must offer coverage for morbid obesity, including surgery. I started a mission to see what it would take to get the same type of law passed in Missouri and found out two days before the close of the last session that there is a house bill floating out there in the Missouri house that would do this and no legislator is taking the necessary steps to get it passed to help us Missourians who need this help. The bill is House bill 84.
I am on a mission to unite Missourians to pressure their representatives and senators to pass this bill in the next session. If readers would like a copy of this bill and would like to join forces with me, please write me at P.O. Box 116, Pierce City, MO 65723. Insurance companies have taken our premiums and given us the coverage they want and we just have had to sit back and take what they give us and the politicians haven't been forceful enough in making insurance companies provide what is medically necessary because insurance companies have lobbyist. We need to join together and be heard with our vote and that, I think, is more powerful.
Julie Jackson

End of letter ------------------------------------------
So there you have it bandsters, some info that could help us and many others. As we all know, gastric bypass isn't the only solution (we'll need to mention this to Julie in case she is in need of the surgery), but any and all attention on the subject should be helpful. Let's draw our pens(keyboards?) and get busy!!