November 10, 2011 - Skin removal for weight loss patients

wow, so three people lose a ton of weight and have so much excess skin, that doctors consider it a health risk if they don't have it surgically removed. problem though, our lovely Medical Care Plan (provincial insurance provider) won't pay for it (guess they either think it is cosmetic in all cases, or there just aren't enough people raising the issue).

well, here's my thoughts on the matter, as i posted on CBC's website.. thoughts that got me 31 thumbs up and only 2 thumbs down:
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the fundamental principles of the Canada Health Act and all provincial health insurance programs include: Public administration, Comprehensiveness, Universality, Portability and Accessibility. What this means is that any health service deemed medically necessary, should be covered. This really makes all other factors moot in this argument.


So, who should decide what is medically necessary? Should it be politicians and policy-makers who work in Confederation Building and have never met this person? Or should it be Pam's provincially-licenced doctors? I say let doctors decide what is medically necessary and what is not.

Morally, sure, you can argue either way. you could say that Pam has taken positive steps to improve her life and lower her use of other health care resources... or sure, you could say that overweight people never should have been overweight in the first place, and that they brought it on themself.

The real problem here in this province is that there is not enough emphasis on preventative health. we are so reactionary. what is sad though, is that many health care dollars are eaten up treating health conditions that could have been easily prevented, that we as a province claim we 'can't afford' to treat many other medical conditions that are brought on through no fault of the patients.

Heck, i am an example. i required surgery for a medical condition i was born with, yet i was denied MCP funding too.yet cancer treatments for life-long drinkers and smokers are regularly covered. How is this fair? It sadly comes down to strength in numbers, because numbers = votes. and that's the core problem with giving government a monopoly on health care.
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Very interesting that the media is jumping all over this issue, while turning a blind eye to many others who need medical treatment for conditions they were born with. but hmmm, this just goes to show you the power of the media..

Jenn