Obesity policy will benefit trial lawyers

The federal government’s decision to begin covering obesity treatment will help trial lawyers in their quest to blame the epidemic on the food and restaurant industries.

Trial lawyers and public-health advocates have targeted fast-food giant McDonald’s Corp. and companies such as Kraft Foods Inc. in obesity-related lawsuits.

George Washington University law professor John Banzhaf III yesterday said the government all but declared obesity a chronic disease, a position that would help trial lawyers.

The Health and Human Services Department on Thursday announced that the department that runs Medicare, the federal health-insurance program for the elderly and disabled, would omit language in its coverage manual that prohibits coverage for treating obesity.

Medicare officials “opened the door almost as far as they can go. Everything now is a technicality,” said Mr. Banzhaf, head of the obesity suit laywers.

The latest lawsuit was filed last week against McDonald’s, saying the company did not follow through on its promise to cut “bad fat” in its french fries.

The Medicare policy change eliminated wording that said obesity was not an illness. However, government officials were careful not to classify obesity as either an illness or a disease.

Mr. Banzhaf said he expected obesity coverage to spread to Medicaid, the federal program for low-income families with children, and to private insurers.

Medicaid and Medicare both are handled by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

A decision to cover obesity treatments under Medicaid could create a situation similar to tobacco litigation, in which state attorneys general sued tobacco companies to recoup costs for treating tobacco-related illnesses paid for by Medicaid, Mr. Banzhaf said.

Four major tobacco companies, barraged by the litigation, in 1998 reached a $246 billion settlement with state governments to cover the costs of smoking-related illnesses.

“The biggest threat could be the states’ coming in to sue McDonald’s for millions because of their role in the illness called obesity,” he said. “Now that’s far from a slam-dunk, and probably considered far-fetched. But that’s exactly what everyone said about tobacco.”

Other consumer advocates said the decision is a catalyst for other policy changes in federal and private health care.

Grover Norquist, president for the D.C. taxpayer coalition Americans for Tax Reform, said the move by the Bush administration sets up the chance for a loss of freedoms while raising taxes.

“When government pays for health consequences of the public’s personal decisions, they will then impose how those decisions will be made. This could certainly also lead to higher government spending paid for by the taxpayers,” Mr. Norquist said.

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