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West Virginia to offer free Weight Watchers courses to State residents |
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Monday, 29 January 2007 |
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With the rising problem of obesity hitting State insurance payouts, the State of West Virginia is to offer up to 75,000 people free weight loss courses with Weight Watchers.
The move is an effort to stem the $100 million annual cost of medical treatment linked to obesity and is being administered through Unicare, which provides Medicaid health coverage to lower income families. Unicare covers about 75,000 of West Virginia's 370,000 residents covered by Medicaid.
In order to be eligible for the program, residents will need a doctor's referral, and have a body mass index (BMI) score that categorises them as morbidly obese. Once approved, they will be entitled to participate in the 16 feek Weight Watchers program without charge.
It is hoped that the program will improve the health of residents on the Weight Watchers course, reducing obesity levels and the subsequent cost to taxpayers of Medicaid coverage. If successful in West Virginia, the program might be rolled out to other states that are covered by Wellpoint, the parent company of Unicare. West Virginia was chosen for the pilot program because it has the third highest obesity levels in the country, behind Mississippi and Tennessee.
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