My son was denied health insurance!!!!!

Nurses Activism

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I just really need to vent. My son is a truck driver and over the last few years he has put on some weight. He knows he needs to lose the extra weight and he is trying to do so. He is 6' 4" and weights 318 pounds.

He recently was offered insurance through the company he works for and the insurance company denied coverage due to his Height/Weight. That is exactly what it says "coverage denied due to Height/Weight".

Now I am sorry but he is only 23 years old, it is not like he has been over wieght all his life. But since he is now considered obese he is not elligble for health coverage. This is a crock if you ask me:angryfire. What has our health care come too? Pretty soon insurance companies will be dropping those from their policys due to being overweight.

I am just so overwhelmed by this! What is my son to do now? He is trying to lose the weight, he is a wonderful young man, trying to make an honest living but is unable to get healthcare coverage.

I wish I had all the money in world so no one would ever have to be turned down for the healthcare that they deserve. I am so saddened to think that he may have to go the rest of his life without insurance.

What is a mother to do! Sad, Sad, day.:scrying:

Oh please, fat discrimination!. You know what got me to quit smoking and start running?.. It wasn't a group hug!.. It was the constant birage of ads on TV and people reminding me how I was going to die if I didn't quit.. I think the clincher was when my father died of lung cancer after years of smoking.. You have to be able to change your thinking and decide to change ..and it's different for everyone. Even if you set up an apartment in the middle of a health spa, unless you are motivated on a personal level to change, you will never put in the effort. All the free health spas in the world won't make people exersize if they haven't made up their minds to change their habits.

And you are right about the BMI however.. I see many runners who look like couch potatos beat the pants off of me. As Jack LaLaine puts it, "Exersize is king, diet is queen and together you have a kingdom" and also " Dying is easy.. it's living that's hard"

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I don't think that being judgemental or sanctimonious is helpful.

I am reacting to the sort of "blame the victim mentality" that is sometimes displayed towards victims of fill in the blank. My real point was that we need to look at the barriers to change and redesign the systems to reduce the barriers. I don't think that anyone denies the role of free will in making changes but we do need to design interventions based in the nursing process AND with an awareness of the 4 stages of change. If someone is in that precontemplation phase and is harped on by well meaning people I think that that can set up a dynamic that prevents progression to making changes.

Incentives + support by medical professionals facilitate change. Taking away one's benefits does not.

Is a very well put point.

Undoubtedly acting as a role model is important but I also think we do much more for people by inviting them to go for a walk rather than saying "you have got to lose weight." THe old saying of catching more flies with honey than vinegar is usually true.

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My truck driver husband is considered overweight, not by 100lbs, but since he has began his career he has put on weight . And it is true that not all truck drivers are long haul but even local drivers drive for 11 or so hours a day and are able to get in and out of the truck more often than long haul drivers.

My husband does have to do mandatory physicals I believe annually. And at the last one they stated he was overweight but otherwise healthy. Its not that all truck drivers don't try to be healthy. He packs sandwiches, water (regular and flavored), granola bars, and for a treat one bag of 100 calorie chips. And for exercise we take walks on his days off. So, someone who is doing things to be healthy and is yet considered overweight, should be denied health insurance based solely on the number on the scale?

I think that I lived my life in an extremly unhealthy way more so when I was in nursing school doing my clinicals. No time to eat a good meal, rest, and 12 hour rotations. These things have been brought up many times on this board. So many jobs that don't fit the 9-5 work schedule in a cubicle/office are at greater risk for overweight workers. Certainly providing incentives, as someone mentioned above, would perhaps provide a better participation in weight loss. But also understand that not everyone is meant to be skinny.:twocents:

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I don't think that being judgemental or sanctimonious is helpful.

I do not believe I have been, and if I came across as such I apologize. However, when you change yourself in a positive way such I have in the past, it is kinda like finding religion.. You want to scream it out to anyone who can hear you.

Don't think working in an office all day is any healthier.. I have never seen so many pastey overweight people in my life. My point thruout this thread is, while many of us make excuses for our behavior and life style, playing the victim, it is my belief that we are all born with free will.. and while most bad behavior is learned,. it can be unlearned and changed.

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Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
I do not believe I have been, and if I came across as such I apologize. However, when you change yourself in a positive way such I have in the past, it is kinda like finding religion.. You want to scream it out to anyone who can hear you.

Don't think working in an office all day is any healthier.. I have never seen so many pastey overweight people in my life. My point thruout this thread is, while many of us make excuses for our behavior and life style, playing the victim, it is my belief that we are all born with free will.. and while most bad behavior is learned,. it can be unlearned and changed.

No one made excuses or played victim here. You were offered some examples of the challenges that truck drivers face as a population (these are documented, researched facts that healthcare professionals can use in implementing individualized plans of care for this group), and chose to see them as excuses. These are very real barriers in self-care.

And in light of the fact that it took the death of your father (sorry for your loss, BTW) to cause you to change, what makes you think other people can just change at the drop of a hat without support?

Incentives + support by medical professionals facilitate change. Taking away one's benefits does not.

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Well Stated!

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Specializes in Cardiac Thoracic Surgery, Emergency Med.
No one made excuses or played victim here. You were offered some examples of the challenges that truck drivers face as a population (these are documented, researched facts that healthcare professionals can use in implementing individualized plans of care for this group), and chose to see them as excuses. These are very real barriers in self-care.

And in light of the fact that it took the death of your father (sorry for your loss, BTW) to cause you to change, what makes you think other people can just change at the drop of a hat without support?

Incentives + support by medical professionals facilitate change. Taking away one's benefits does not.

We live in such a excuse driven society. The 23 year old we are talking about is just an example of the obesity in America. We live in a non-active era. It is sad. This is not "fat discrimination", it is time for everyone to wake up. I work on a cardiac surgery floor. Our biggest culprits are smoking and obesity. It is sad to see people in their 40's dropping dead of heart disease and having heart catherizations done to place stents due to grossly clogged arteries.

I am not the "skinny" person you think I may be making these statements. I am merely an average person. I work out 3 - 5 times per week and believe me, it is a chore... but I do it, because I shouldn't feel tired while in only a few months I will turn 40. I do it because it is necessary. I smoked for 20+ years and stopped because I was really starting to feel the effects of smoking. It was the hardest thing I ever did... and my reward... I gained 20 lbs. I am saying that when somebody has the BMI of 40 - no matter how you look at that, it is incredibly hard on a 23 year old body. I can totally see why an insurance company wouldn't want to take that on. It isn't right, or maybe even morally correct, but I understand their financial standpoint. If insurance companies were very clear with what their requirements were before taking you on, then it probably wouldn't be such a shock. For example, with car insurance, if you are a crappy driver and a higher risk, insurance will cost you more. Maybe if health insurance companies charged more for the people that place their health in higher risk status, then people would work harder to stay healthy. I know, that in my case, I have to work harder than the average person to stay healthy. I wish I didn't have to, but I do.

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No one made excuses or played victim here. You were offered some examples of the challenges that truck drivers face as a population (these are documented, researched facts that healthcare professionals can use in implementing individualized plans of care for this group), and chose to see them as excuses. These are very real barriers in self-care.

And in light of the fact that it took the death of your father (sorry for your loss, BTW) to cause you to change, what makes you think other people can just change at the drop of a hat without support?

Incentives + support by medical professionals facilitate change. Taking away one's benefits does not.

I beg to differ here..All the insentives and support will not help a person change, who chooses not to. I still see blaming one's work schedule and such as an excuse.. The sooner a person realizes that most everything in life is based on choice and not luck of the draw, the sooner change can start. Change is based on having a sense of control over a situation.

From your statements, I gather you must have an inability to change your own bad habits. I understand your frustration, as I have been there. I managed to stop smoking with out the support of any group and with my husband and friends still smoking all around me. While it may be nice to have support, inner strength and determination, and also realizing that you are in control is what eventually did it for me. If you haven't watched the biggest loser, you should.. these people show what motivation can do.

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Specializes in Cardiac Thoracic Surgery, Emergency Med.
I beg to differ here..All the insentives and support will not help a person change, who chooses not to. I still see blaming one's work schedule and such as an excuse.. The sooner a person realizes that most everything in life is based on choice and not luck of the draw, the sooner change can start. Change is based on having a sense of control over a situation.

From your statements, I gather you must have an inability to change your own bad habits. I understand your frustration, as I have been there. I managed to stop smoking with out the support of any group and with my husband and friends still smoking all around me. While it may be nice to have support, inner strength and determination, and also realizing that you are in control is what eventually did it for me. If you haven't watched the biggest loser, you should.. these people show what motivation can do.

I agree. This conversation usually brings forth the whole "fat discrimination" conversation. I simply cannot believe how unhealthy we as a society are becoming. It is truly sad. :cry:

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Specializes in Cardiac Thoracic Surgery, Emergency Med.

Incentives + support by medical professionals facilitate change. Taking away one's benefits does not.

The incentive should be ones health. There is plenty of support from our medical professionals, but the problem that seems to rehash over and over is that we live in a society that is not patient. Everybody wants results over night. That isn't going to happen.

If there were truly a pill that would make you lose fat and you could choose that over exercise, what would you choose? I am sure the majority of people would choose the easy way out. I know I would, but that choice really doesn't exist. It does takes determination and a change of lifestyle to achieve a healthy status if you are not healthy. It is as simple as that... and I honestly think that no matter how many times we hear that as a society, it simply sounds too hard to accomplish.

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Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.

From your statements, I gather you must have an inability to change your own bad habits. I understand your frustration, as I have been there. I managed to stop smoking with out the support of any group and with my husband and friends still smoking all around me. While it may be nice to have support, inner strength and determination, and also realizing that you are in control is what eventually did it for me. If you haven't watched the biggest loser, you should.. these people show what motivation can do.

Wow- you make lots of assumptions, don't you? FWIW, I am not overweight, I don't smoke, and I don't drink. I have had to lose post-pregnancy weight before, so I can understand the value of having a strong support system. I found some of that support here at Allnurses in the Healthy Living thread.

You also seem to spend a lot of time watching TV, and getting your inspiration from that. I'm glad that works for you, even if it is a sedentary activity.

The Biggest Loser works, because they incorporate a strong support network into their program. They have some very good workout videos, BTW. Check them out if you want to be inspired by them in a non-sedentary manner.

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Specializes in Trauma,ER,CCU/OHU/Nsg Ed/Nsg Research.
The incentive should be ones health. There is plenty of support from our medical professionals, but the problem that seems to rehash over and over is that we live in a society that is not patient. Everybody wants results over night. That isn't going to happen.

If there were truly a pill that would make you lose fat and you could choose that over exercise, what would you choose? I am sure the majority of people would choose the easy way out. I know I would, but that choice really doesn't exist. It does takes determination and a change of lifestyle to achieve a healthy status if you are not healthy. It is as simple as that... and I honestly think that no matter how many times we hear that as a society, it simply sounds too hard to accomplish.

The incentive is one's health. I spend 8 hrs/day educating people on the benefits of wt loss, healthy diet, and exercise, according to evidence-based standards. None of my patients are taking weight loss meds, and most are able to see results within 3 months if they adhere to their individualized plan. Education & support works better than leaving them to figure out things by themselves (for example, through TV commercials, as previously mentioned by someone else).

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