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My Tax Dollars Hard At Work
havingitall
Posts: 3,728 Member
Ontario broadens access for bariatric surgery
February 23, 2009
Comments on this story (1)
Sheryl Ubelacker
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Ontario is investing $75 million to significantly boost its capacity to perform bariatric surgery and reduce the number of patients who must be sent to the U.S. for the weight-loss operation, Health Minister David Caplan announced Monday.
Caplan said the expansion program will mean a five-fold increase in gastric bypass surgeries within the province, raising the number of patients who will receive the operation to 1,470 in 2011-12 from 244 this year.
The province is creating four centres of excellence for bariatric treatment, at St. Joseph's HealthCare Hamilton, Humber River Regional Hospital in Toronto, Guelph General Hospital and the Ottawa Hospital.
"It is part of Ontario's diabetes strategy that we are increasing bariatric surgery by some 500 per cent over the course of the next three years," Caplan said by phone from Hamilton.
Bariatric surgery – in this case, gastric bypass surgery – involves reconfiguring a patient's digestive system to limit the amount of food they can eat and digest. It is considered a medical last resort for people who have failed to lose weight or maintain weight loss through diet, increased physical activity, behaviour modification and anti-obesity drugs.
By helping overweight and obese people to shed excess pounds, the operation can prevent or resolve such conditions as Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
"High levels of obesity are leading to dramatic rises in serious chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and some cancers," Caplan said. "Bariatric surgery will help offset the costs of treating these obesity-related conditions, while reducing ER visits and hospitalizations."
Ontario will spend about $51 million this year as part of its Out of Country program to send about 1,660 patients south of the border for the "much-needed" operation, "one of our fastest-growing expenditure lines in the health budget," he noted.
"And this put it in very stark terms for me, that for every surgery that we perform in Ontario as opposed to in the United States, it costs us $10,000 (per patient) less than we're currently funding."
But ramping up capacity is only one part of the equation.
Caplan said it will take time to build teams of trained bariatric surgeons and related health providers.
The centres will provide pre- and post-bariatric surgical care, counselling, referral and weight-loss treatment delivered by a multi-disciplinary health-care team consisting of physicians, nurses, dietitians, social workers, kinesiologists and mental health workers.
"We are putting a focus on it to attract, to recruit, to retain and to train future practitioners," Caplan said.
This is Vicky talking now.
Wouldn't they be better using our tax dollars to teach people how to eat properly, give subsidies for gym memberships or any kind of fitness classes. How about a tax rebate for people who put less strain on the health care system by being at a healthy weight. How nice that my provincial government wants to use my tax dollars for this.
February 23, 2009
Comments on this story (1)
Sheryl Ubelacker
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Ontario is investing $75 million to significantly boost its capacity to perform bariatric surgery and reduce the number of patients who must be sent to the U.S. for the weight-loss operation, Health Minister David Caplan announced Monday.
Caplan said the expansion program will mean a five-fold increase in gastric bypass surgeries within the province, raising the number of patients who will receive the operation to 1,470 in 2011-12 from 244 this year.
The province is creating four centres of excellence for bariatric treatment, at St. Joseph's HealthCare Hamilton, Humber River Regional Hospital in Toronto, Guelph General Hospital and the Ottawa Hospital.
"It is part of Ontario's diabetes strategy that we are increasing bariatric surgery by some 500 per cent over the course of the next three years," Caplan said by phone from Hamilton.
Bariatric surgery – in this case, gastric bypass surgery – involves reconfiguring a patient's digestive system to limit the amount of food they can eat and digest. It is considered a medical last resort for people who have failed to lose weight or maintain weight loss through diet, increased physical activity, behaviour modification and anti-obesity drugs.
By helping overweight and obese people to shed excess pounds, the operation can prevent or resolve such conditions as Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
"High levels of obesity are leading to dramatic rises in serious chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and some cancers," Caplan said. "Bariatric surgery will help offset the costs of treating these obesity-related conditions, while reducing ER visits and hospitalizations."
Ontario will spend about $51 million this year as part of its Out of Country program to send about 1,660 patients south of the border for the "much-needed" operation, "one of our fastest-growing expenditure lines in the health budget," he noted.
"And this put it in very stark terms for me, that for every surgery that we perform in Ontario as opposed to in the United States, it costs us $10,000 (per patient) less than we're currently funding."
But ramping up capacity is only one part of the equation.
Caplan said it will take time to build teams of trained bariatric surgeons and related health providers.
The centres will provide pre- and post-bariatric surgical care, counselling, referral and weight-loss treatment delivered by a multi-disciplinary health-care team consisting of physicians, nurses, dietitians, social workers, kinesiologists and mental health workers.
"We are putting a focus on it to attract, to recruit, to retain and to train future practitioners," Caplan said.
This is Vicky talking now.
Wouldn't they be better using our tax dollars to teach people how to eat properly, give subsidies for gym memberships or any kind of fitness classes. How about a tax rebate for people who put less strain on the health care system by being at a healthy weight. How nice that my provincial government wants to use my tax dollars for this.
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Replies
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Ontario broadens access for bariatric surgery
February 23, 2009
Comments on this story (1)
Sheryl Ubelacker
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Ontario is investing $75 million to significantly boost its capacity to perform bariatric surgery and reduce the number of patients who must be sent to the U.S. for the weight-loss operation, Health Minister David Caplan announced Monday.
Caplan said the expansion program will mean a five-fold increase in gastric bypass surgeries within the province, raising the number of patients who will receive the operation to 1,470 in 2011-12 from 244 this year.
The province is creating four centres of excellence for bariatric treatment, at St. Joseph's HealthCare Hamilton, Humber River Regional Hospital in Toronto, Guelph General Hospital and the Ottawa Hospital.
"It is part of Ontario's diabetes strategy that we are increasing bariatric surgery by some 500 per cent over the course of the next three years," Caplan said by phone from Hamilton.
Bariatric surgery – in this case, gastric bypass surgery – involves reconfiguring a patient's digestive system to limit the amount of food they can eat and digest. It is considered a medical last resort for people who have failed to lose weight or maintain weight loss through diet, increased physical activity, behaviour modification and anti-obesity drugs.
By helping overweight and obese people to shed excess pounds, the operation can prevent or resolve such conditions as Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
"High levels of obesity are leading to dramatic rises in serious chronic illnesses like diabetes, heart disease, hypertension and some cancers," Caplan said. "Bariatric surgery will help offset the costs of treating these obesity-related conditions, while reducing ER visits and hospitalizations."
Ontario will spend about $51 million this year as part of its Out of Country program to send about 1,660 patients south of the border for the "much-needed" operation, "one of our fastest-growing expenditure lines in the health budget," he noted.
"And this put it in very stark terms for me, that for every surgery that we perform in Ontario as opposed to in the United States, it costs us $10,000 (per patient) less than we're currently funding."
But ramping up capacity is only one part of the equation.
Caplan said it will take time to build teams of trained bariatric surgeons and related health providers.
The centres will provide pre- and post-bariatric surgical care, counselling, referral and weight-loss treatment delivered by a multi-disciplinary health-care team consisting of physicians, nurses, dietitians, social workers, kinesiologists and mental health workers.
"We are putting a focus on it to attract, to recruit, to retain and to train future practitioners," Caplan said.
This is Vicky talking now.
Wouldn't they be better using our tax dollars to teach people how to eat properly, give subsidies for gym memberships or any kind of fitness classes. How about a tax rebate for people who put less strain on the health care system by being at a healthy weight. How nice that my provincial government wants to use my tax dollars for this.0 -
My mom had gastric by pass surgery about a year ago. Without it, she might have died before I turned 25. Currently it is only accessible to those who are obese. It takes a lot to even qualify for it....it took my mom like 6 months to do all the preliminary stages involved. Not only is she now healthier and thinner, it also cured her diabetes. It is a LAST resort just like the article said. It saves lives. I personally think that research should be put in to see if it will also cure diabetes in those who are not overweight. Actually there probably is already research going on. It is a beneficial surgery. I applaud Canada for trying to do this. I watched my mom for almost my entire life try to lose weight and it didnt work for her, she needed this surgery.
While the classes and gym memberships you talk about are also beneficial, it is a choice people make not to eat right and go to the gym. You can bring a horse to water but you can't make them drink. If someone chooses to eat right and exercise they probably can access the funds and education to do that. There are some people (such as my mom) that need medical help such as the bariatric surgery. There should definitely be funding for that.0 -
There are no funds available from the government for exercise and it is darn difficult to get to see a nutritionist, at least through my doctor.
I'm glad it helped your Mom.
I guess I am of the mind that you should try and help yourself first...the way I am doing it.0 -
I'm afraid preventative medicine has yet to take hold in the west, canadians or americans. We want to solve problems after they happen, when addressing a trend before it becomes a huge problem isin't popular. Don't know what the answer is, just my thoughts and frustrations!0
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My mom had gastric by pass surgery about a year ago. Without it, she might have died before I turned 25. Currently it is only accessible to those who are obese. It takes a lot to even qualify for it....it took my mom like 6 months to do all the preliminary stages involved. Not only is she now healthier and thinner, it also cured her diabetes. It is a LAST resort just like the article said. It saves lives. I personally think that research should be put in to see if it will also cure diabetes in those who are not overweight. Actually there probably is already research going on. It is a beneficial surgery. I applaud Canada for trying to do this. I watched my mom for almost my entire life try to lose weight and it didnt work for her, she needed this surgery.
While the classes and gym memberships you talk about are also beneficial, it is a choice people make not to eat right and go to the gym. You can bring a horse to water but you can't make them drink. If someone chooses to eat right and exercise they probably can access the funds and education to do that. There are some people (such as my mom) that need medical help such as the bariatric surgery. There should definitely be funding for that.
I have to agree with you on this 100% my hubby would not be here today if it wasn't for gastric by pass surgery, he did for years try and help himself, it didn't work, he needed medical intervention, but on the flip side by government stepping up to the plate, this means that those people who receive the help through gastric bypass usually fall into a healthier lifestyle, not all, but most, therefore it reduces the stress on the health care system in later years, diabetes, heart, stroke, all the problems that go along with being overweight in later years, so this is kind of bittersweet, but I do think the government is doing the right thing.0 -
I guess I am of the mind that you should try and help yourself first...the way I am doing it.
I would have to agree with you, if we focused more on teaching and more on prevenative alternatives then eventually people would get healthier and healhier. each generation would get more and more "concieous" about healthy living... which is better in the long run, however MOST people are lazy, and they just want to solve problems over night. they are not willing to maintain healthy eating habbits until they start to see results. and they want to continue to eat excess food even though they do not need to.0 -
A friend of mine had gastric bypass last year. Prior to this surgery, I started taking her to the gym with me and she lost 18 pounds in ONE MONTH. She stopped going, because "it was taking too long" and she said that she didn't want to have to watch what she ate and exercise every day for the rest of her life. A couple years later, she had the surgery done. The military paid for it.
Now she wants to have a tummy tuck and a lift done. And it looks like the military will be paying for that, too.
I understand that people need it for health reasons. There are so many people who struggle so hard to lose weight on their own(myself included) She was borderline diabetic, and already had cholesterol problems. But I also saw first hand that some people would rather have a quick fix instead of taking their problems into their own hands and do the hard work that needed to be done.
*The military also has free gym access to family members, all year long...0 -
*The military also has free gym access to family members, all year long...
Yeah, but some of those class instructors think as a spouse I must want to pass the same PT test my husband has to...I am mentally preparing for my cardio pump / step class tonight that KILLS me! I have used the gym at several different posts and always appreciated that benefit.
But seriously, I think gastric bypass is absolutely a lifesaver for some and can be a good thing, I just wonder where is the goverments investment when it comes to nutrition and exercise education, preventing all the health and cost problems associated with obesity. Having worked in healthcare for a while now, around a fair share of gastric bypass programs, I have to wonder when I see the nutrition education class struggling to get a following but the gastric bypass informative meeting has standing room only. Like I said, don't know the answer, just my 2 cents.0 -
It irritates me when people think that government should pay for this kind of stuff for them. I'm sorry that your tax dollars have to go towards that. I know that the surgeries have saved lives, but they could save even more lives if they would do more research on things like cancer. North America has become sooooo lazy and people are wanting a quick fix. Yes it's a lot easier to lose weight with this kind of surgery. My uncle had lab band surgery done and has lost 140+ pounds in the last year, basically it proves that if he would have just cut his portions down he could have lost the weight on his own, but he didn't want to have to work at it, he wanted it to be easy. Now he eats about 1/8 of what he use to, but I truely think if they removed the band tomorrow he would go back to his old ways, because he hasn't dealt with the emotional reasons he was over eating.0
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There are no funds available from the government for exercise and it is darn difficult to get to see a nutritionist, at least through my doctor.
I'm glad it helped your Mom.
I guess I am of the mind that you should try and help yourself first...the way I am doing it.
My mother did try and help herself first...it was more complicated than just what we're trying to do at MFP. She couldn't exercise really. It was too much pain for her to even walk with us in a theme park or something. There was a major difference though when we went to Disney last august. She could walk with us without being in pain. It is an awesome thing to be able to go on a family vacation and actually be able to have your mom enjoy the things you get to. She would never have been able to do that without the surgery.
Exercise is EASILY accessible without funds. Go walk in the park, ride a bike and if you cant go outside then get a an exercise DVD. And while going and seeing a personal nutritionist is a luxury for most that doesn't mean you can't be educated on nutrition through other ways. I don't think I've watched the Today show lately without them mentioning something to do with nutrition. The internet is another great resource. While it may not be perfect, one has the resources. It's just a matter of whether or not one decides to use them.
While I agree that you should try to eat better and exercise first, it doesn't work in certain situations. This surgery is necessary for some people and is obviously not as easily accessible monetarily as nutrition and exercise is.0 -
i know one person who had it doen and she intially gained all the wt back. She then lost it the long way, thru exercise and proper diet(i posted bout her losing 123 lbs). I thought when you said that you were gonna go on a welfare rant. I do that like the people who have too many kids and we take care of em....I currently work near a place like that.0
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I'm a little confused this story is from Canada which has national health - the government pays for medical procedures in Canada and the UK - in the US many insurance carriers cover Gastric bypass - so why shouldn't it be covered under national health or I am I missing something
I mean doing with diet and exercise is always best , but under certain conditions surgery may be the only option0 -
If I had the choice of my tax dollars going toward more funding towards our kid's education, or towards people getting gastric bypass... I think our country's children would be at the top of the list. But I do absolutely agree that some people need to have G.B., and that it is their only option. My only concern is that there isn't really a way to keep people from using G.B. as their ONLY option, instead of their last resort...0
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I'm a little confused this story is from Canada which has national health - the government pays for medical procedures in Canada and the UK - in the US many insurance carriers cover Gastric bypass - so why shouldn't it be covered under national health or I am I missing something
I mean doing with diet and exercise is always best , but under certain conditions surgery may be the only option
Not all procedures are covered under the health care system. Some elective surgury must be paid by the patient0 -
I'm afraid i have to agree... i hate it so much thoughI'm afraid preventative medicine has yet to take hold in the west, canadians or americans. We want to solve problems after they happen, when addressing a trend before it becomes a huge problem isin't popular. Don't know what the answer is, just my thoughts and frustrations!
Its like puting the wd-40 on the kids bike after it rusts instead of just taking it out of the rain...0
This discussion has been closed.
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