Kill Bill Volume H.R. 3472 Lobbying Efforts of Heart Association No Laughing Matter

They say laughter is the best medicine… well, except if you are diabetic, then insulin would be the best medicine.

What if you want to improve heart health? It would stand to reason that improving overall health and taking preventative action like engaging in exercise and showing an improvement in risk factors would actually be a good idea.

The Daily Show on Comedy Central recently aired a segment and a Bill H.R.3472 that was sponsored in 2009 by Former Democratic Congresswoman Kathleen Dahlkemper designed to reward individuals with lower health insurance premiums who for example exercised, ate healthy and did not smoke.

• Democrats liked it because it focused on prevention

• Republicans like it because it was a cost effective solution

However the Bill was killed by political lobby groups trying to protect self interests. If you think it was Tobacco, Sugar or Fast Food Lobbyists… think again.

Who killed Bill H.R.3472?

It was:

• American Heart Association
• American Cancer Society
• American Diabetes Association

In a segment entitled How a Bill Doesn’t Become a Law, Daily Show correspondent/comedian Wyatt Cenac asked former congresswoman Kathy Dahlkemper why the American Heart Association (AHA), the American Cancer Society (ACS), and the American Diabetes Association (ADA) would kill legislation that would have rewarded healthy behavior by providing health insurance premium discounts of up to 20% for healthy behaviors relating to smoking, blood pressure, BMI, cholesterol levels, and blood sugar.

Dahlkemper, said that the AHA, ACS and ADA groups opposed the legislation because “some of the people they represent can’t make lifestyle changes to have a healthier life.”

The AHA published this rebuttal statement:

Last night, The Daily Show featured a segment that portrayed the American Heart Association as working against Bill 3472, which was described as providing incentives through health care premiums for people who exercise.  We appreciate the focus the show placed on promoting health in the workplace.  In fact, the Bill describes health behavior as not smoking, having low blood pressure (within the normal range), a body mass index (BMI) in the normal range, and appropriate cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

The AHA is a strong supporter of comprehensive wellness and health promotion programs that address each of these health indicators and we support incentives to participate in these programs.  While effective as comedy, the piece was inaccurate in portraying the bill and why we are opposed to this kind of legislation.  This bill might open the door for discrimination of people with pre-existing conditions, and also those who are genetically predisposed to these conditions. Most importantly it would restrict access to healthcare to those who need it most and research has shown that this has a negative effect on health.

Once again, we support comprehensive health promotion programs and efforts that move the population toward healthier behaviors.  We are also working hard to assure access to affordable, quality health care for all.

While I disagree with some of the measurements suggested to gauge health such as BMI providing incentives and rewards for anyone who follows a healthy life not only makes common sense it also makes economic sense benefitting the Nation as a whole in many ways including productivity and substantially reducing health care costs.

Here is the Official Summary of Bill H.R. 3472:

7/31/2009–Introduced.Requires a group health plan, and a health insurance issuer offering group health insurance coverage in the group market or health insurance coverage in the individual market, for plan years beginning on or after January 1, 2010, to provide premium discounts for healthy behavior and improvements toward healthy behavior. Requires the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to conclude a rulemaking procedure to determine the appropriate premium discount applicable to each healthy behavior and each improvement toward healthy behavior. Describes “healthy behavior” (and improvements toward such behavior) as indicated by factors related to smoking, blood pressure, body mass index, lipoprotein levels, and hemoglobin A1c levels. Requires any healthy behavior or improvement toward healthy behavior to be supported by medical test result information which is certified by a licensed physician, and the individual to whom it relates, as being complete, accurate, and current. Imposes civil penalties for false certifications.

Here is the : Official Bill Text Comment on about 3 Pages

This appears to me to be another case of powerful lobbyists: the  AHA, ACA and ADA deciding if they are not acknowledged / compensated then no one will benefit.

Watch the Daily Show segment entitled How a Bill Doesn’t Become a Law,

© 2011 – Copyrights Grant Roberts, All Rights Reserved