Ambulances start charging extra for obese patients

[ryai458]

ya i could see this and let me tell you im a lifeguard and its very difficult to get someone who weighs more than two hundered pounds on to a back board

I weigh more than 200 pounds, and I AM NOT OBESE!.

While I am in favour of a fat tax and turning the ambulance service into a taxi business for fat people, I want Ryai458 to start working out just in case I ever drown.

im not saying 200 lb people are obese im saying its difficult to get them on a back board with messing them up more then they already are

 

[DigitalSushi]

Pretty much.

I mean, you can call it a health condition all you like, but at the end of the day it's really, really not.

EDIT: But yeah guys. If you do get a health service like us Brits do, look at all the wonderful things you'll be spending your money on.

Better yet are the smokers who get new lungs bought for them with NHS money then smoke those away, too.

Lungs are hugeley valuable. There is no way that the NHS would give someone lungs who would continue to smoke without someone seriously fucking up.

Someone who would even consider doing so, after they have NEW FUCKING LUNGS should be removed from the genepool.

Welcome to why the NHS is screwed up.

Are you saying lung trasnplant patients regularly continue smoking and destroy their new lungs?

We all know George Best pickled his second liver!

But smokers normally do well at quitting in the face of surviving Lung cancer, since its so scary to get it in the first place.

 

[Gigano]

Even if one could argue that it is their own fault, it seems to be a slippery slope, for who else are a strain on the health care system? Smokers? People who are pregnant with disabled children and choose not to abort them? People who own a car that releases exhaustion gasses into the surroundings. Nobody's perfect, so one should not be too hasty to judge.

But then again having to pay anything at all for healthcare seems like a bit of a harsh system to me, so i'm probably just a spoiled European on this one...

 

[Broken Orange]

This would really depend if there was an underlying medical condition which made them obese or whether they were obese through their own efforts.

It is more or less the same as charging drunk drivers for their inevitable hospital bills.

Genetics plays a part in how quickly people lose and gain weight but it's not like it happens uncontrollably. When was the last time working out and eating right solved a medical condition?

Less. Much less. actually it's not really the same thing. Going to the hospital and being charged more because you're obese isn't the same as getting drunk and being charged for a hospital bill. Drunks aren't harder to get into an ambulance.

How about a fat drunk? On a more serious note, I don't think this is fair to people who are doing every single thing they can to lose weight but can't. However, most people should have no excuse to be fat. we have an epedimic on our hands.

 

[mattiboi24]

Maybe obese people will finally clean up their acts, get rid of whatever problems they have, and stop being so obese! Clearly before their health and appearance weren't reason enough, but now there's money on the line! Economics says, lose some weight fatty!

 

[shadowstriker86]

An interesting story popped up today about obese people being charged more for riding in an abulance in the future.

The reason they may begin to charge is because it's much harder to move someone that's say, 400 pounds, versus someone who's of normal body weight. We should all know by now that obesity is a probably not only in America, but in many countries around the world.*

The ambulances that must pick up and move the obese patients must be specially equipped if they want to easily and safely move them. Of course, some people of the community believe this is just another way of discriminating against those who are obese.

I guess my main thoughts would be, do you think that the obese should be charged extra for their hospital ride?

Link to Story: http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gIWjgsj05Z5cpvcm-V2Ikr_8YuiAD9BGA5KG1

* Note: This data is about 5-6 years older, which means the obesity rates for the countries may have increased since then.(http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/hea_obe-health-obesity)

an emphatic YES! Why? Because ambulances are like any other vehicle, too much weight and it will break down and will need serious repair and maintenance afterwards or it may become too damaged and will have to be dismantled. thats more work and more money spent just because lard ass couldnt put the fork down

 

[jamesworkshop]

Why not I only weigh 133 Lbs so i'm safe in fact I should probably describe myself as a very conservationist person.

 

[Superbeast]

As long as they charge extra for everyone over a certain weight - like bodybuilders and pregnant women I don't have a problem with it.

What's the difference between lifting a 250lb body-builder and a 250lb fat bloke? A wad of cash, by the sound of it.

TFG for the NHS so I'd never have to worry about this (amateur body-builder but tubby due to medication).

+EDIT+

Well, at least from the article it refers to all people over 500lb whether it's from being fat or muscled. But holy crap, there are people weighing over 1000lb? Wow. Especially needing to be cut out of houses!

 

[Broady Brio]

Do you get charged less if you are lighter?

Now seriously, since I live in the UK, I get NHS and therfore in theroy it's free. (By free as in EVERYONE pays in taxes.)

If the UK decide to do this, hopefully taxpayers will pay less, therfore my parents can spend it on me.

 

[Inmate13]

Do you get charged less if you are lighter?

Now seriously, since I live in the UK, I get NHS and therfore in theroy it's free. (By free as in EVERYONE pays in taxes.)

If the UK decide to do this, hopefully taxpayers will pay less, therfore my parents can spend it on me.

The government will probably think they're doing you a favour in not making you pay more, while calling it 'paying less' than others

 

[VanityGirl]

As long as they charge extra for everyone over a certain weight - like bodybuilders and pregnant women I don't have a problem with it.

What's the difference between lifting a 250lb body-builder and a 250lb fat bloke? A wad of cash, by the sound of it.

TFG for the NHS so I'd never have to worry about this (amateur body-builder but tubby due to medication).

+EDIT+

Well, at least from the article it refers to all people over 500lb whether it's from being fat or muscled. But holy crap, there are people weighing over 1000lb? Wow. Especially needing to be cut out of houses!

Even body builders won't weigh 500 pounds, that's a lot of muscle mass. But yea, 1,000lbs is A LOT.

 

[SilentStranger]

...okay, am I the only one who thinks this is CRAZY?! These are people we're talking about here, they're not cattle! Im aware that there's a lot of people out there who are very much at fault for their own obesity, but what about the ones who arent? Why is it suddenly okay to discriminate against this particular group?

 

[Vuljatar]

I guess my main thoughts would be, do you think that the obese should be charged extra for their hospital ride?

Yes. They're fat, it's their own fault that they are, it's more expensive to move a fat person, and the money has to come from somewhere.

 

[VanityGirl]

...okay, am I the only one who thinks this is CRAZY?! These are people we're talking about here, they're not cattle! Im aware that there's a lot of people out there who are very much at fault for their own obesity, but what about the ones who arent? Why is it suddenly okay to discriminate against this particular group?

There are indeed people who are overweight because of thyroid conditions and such, but very very very few people are OBESE because of it.
Obesity is worse than being a little overweight.

I mean, the guy briefly mentioned in the story weighed 1,000lbs, don't tell me that wasn't his fault.

 

[SilentStranger]

...okay, am I the only one who thinks this is CRAZY?! These are people we're talking about here, they're not cattle! Im aware that there's a lot of people out there who are very much at fault for their own obesity, but what about the ones who arent? Why is it suddenly okay to discriminate against this particular group?

There are indeed people who are overweight because of thyroid conditions and such, but very very very few people are OBESE because of it.
Obesity is worse than being a little overweight.

I mean, the guy briefly mentioned in the story weighed 1,000lbs, don't tell me that wasn't his fault.

True, but ideas like this makes me extremely uncomfortable, I'm well aware that most truly obese people have themselves to blame, but it still seems wrong to go after them like this.

But you're right, there's a problem that needs solving, I just dont think this is the best way to go

 

[Sion_Barzahd]

Having said that, the majority of obesity is caused by the condition known as "I FUCKING LOVE PIE!", which is not really much of an excuse.

Suppose it doesn't help that apple pie is seen as a symbol of america does it?

 

[Crystal Cuckoo]

They should start charging them more if they board a plane, too.

I'm tired of spending $30 for one extra kilo of luggage when a grossly obese person (who is four times my weight) gets on for the same price.

It's aggravating, it is.

 

[Otterpoet]

Fine... we want to go down this path... why stop there?

Why don?t we start taxing every one that caused heart damage to themselves using Fen-phen and other diet drugs? Or gave themselves a brain hemorrhage from ODing on weight-loss pills. Or have done internal damage to themselves with eating disorders or bulimia? After all, they /chose/ to be skinny.

And while we?re at it, why don?t we charge extra to haul all those retards that have crippled themselves or others while engaging in Xtreme sports or doing some dumbass trick skate-boarding/street racing/water-skiing/sky-diving/etc? After all, they chose to be a %$^#ing idiot! Nor should we forget the morons that remove a limb while cleaning their lawn-mower or nailgun their hand to a wall because they ?know what they?re doing, damnit!? And let?s throw in smokers, drinkers, drug-users and every other negative activity we can think of and charge those people for good measure.

The paramedics can have a little checklist to see how much they charge. ?Whoo-hoo. Fatty here set fire to himself falling asleep drunk with a cigarette in his hand. . . that?s major bucks!?

Or we could treat human beings like. . . oh I don?t know? Human Beings!