Arizona opens new front in the war on T2

Arizona’s cash-strapped Medicaid program is considering adding a $50 tax on single patients who smoke, have diabetes or are overweight. Here’s a link to an article about the proposal.

It was only a mater of time I guess.

You say new front in the war on T2. The article I read did not specify T2 are you sure its only T2 - regardless its stupid - whats next high cholesterol; High Blood pressure - and lets nit forget the asthma and cancer patients!

How riduculous can they get?

That article was nauseating. It wasn’t specific about Type 2, but the fact is that Type 2 does occur more often in the obese. And obesity is SO much more complicated than just “eat less, move more”. It’s so simple for the thin to feel virtuous about their bodies, but it isn’t virtue; it’s luck.

I think public officials get elected on the basis of how pretty/handsome and charismatic they are, NOT on their brains, and CERTAINLY not on their compassion. They have never been in the place of a poor person – how would they understand how it is to be poor? They complain about health-care rationing if we had a single-payer system, and yet they don’t mind hurting and killing OTHER people.

I don’t know what we can do about stupid and mean legislators in states other than where we live, but it sure breaks my heart that at least 2 people have died in Arizona after being denied liver transplants that had previously been promised. Next election, we can throw the bums out, but who’s going to replace them other than other bums?

I was referencing this quote from the article “Coury says diabetics who fail to follow their doctor’s orders to lose weight would be subjected to the $50 charge.” But I used another quote in my post, confusing I agree.

I assumed T2 because of the emphasis on weight loss, more of the T2 gave themselves the disease, because of a lack of moral fiber argument. Most of the public discussion of diabetes does not even consider the differences between T1 and T2. I’m not sure weight loss helps as much with T1, in fact I believe weight gain is considered a side effect of insulin use by some. Hard to see how they could punish someone because of a side effect of a drug they need to continue living, but then again…

Thanks, Alan! :slight_smile: Everything came out clean – no clogged arteries, normal cardiac wall function, and an ejection fraction of 67%, which is normal. I’m SO relieved! It means that the pains I’ve been having are spasms, and that can be treated with medication. I’ve had spasms before, and am comfortable with taking meds for them.