For
Immediate Release
Contact: Sheila McCant
LA House of Representatives
Office of Public Information
Phone: (225) 342-9795
FAX: (225) 219-4380
September 17, 1999
LEGISLATION TO LAUNCH OBESITY PILOT PROGRAM
House Bill 192 by state Rep. Pinkie Wilkerson, D-Grambling, authorizes the state Department of Health and Hospitals to conduct a pilot project to determine the effectiveness of weight control therapies, including nutritional, diet and anorexic drugs, exercise counseling and their projected savings.
"One of the most prevalent health problems in our society, obesity, has caused us to take a second look at the present laws governing the reimbursement of effective drugs and weight control therapies through the state Medicaid Drug Program," said Rep. Wilkerson.
"Obesity is a chronic disease often causing deadly medical problems such as heart disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. Other health conditions such as hypertension, gall bladder problems, sleep apnea, osteoarthritis, infertility and high cholesterol are often caused by obesity," Wilkerson said.
"Obese Louisiana residents are 90% more likely to have diabetes and 50% more likely to have high blood pressure than those who are not obese. Obesity-related diseases account for nearly half of Louisiana's health care budget. Louisiana paid $1.3 billion in claims to recipients with preventable chronic diseases in fiscal year 1994-95. Additionally, I am most concerned with improving the quality of life for Louisiana citizens. Therefore, it is beneficial to us to study the effectiveness and possible cost savings of obesity prevention and management measures," Wilkerson said. "Those measures studied would be weight control therapies, including anorexic drugs and nutritional, diet and exercise counseling."
The pilot program is funded by the State of Louisiana and the Department of Health and Hospitals and will be conducted by the Louisiana State University Medical Center in Shreveport in conjunction with the Pennington Biomedical Research Center.
##