Obese Americans should have their taxes written off if they slim down to a healthy weight, according to a bold new plan by a former Trump health official.
Robert P Charrow, former general counsel for the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) during the first Trump term, is calling on the new administration to trial the plan in West Virginia.
The Mountain State has some of the highest rates of chronic diseases linked to obesity and therefore sucks the most money from federally-funded taxpayer programs like Medicaid.
Writing for the health website STAT News, Charrow said that if West Virginia reduced its obesity rate down from 40 to 25 percent – the same as America’s leanest state, Colorado – in five years then no one in the state should ‘have to pay individual federal income tax for up to five years.’
‘The rest of the country would learn from West Virginia’s experience,’ he wrote, with other highly obese states like Arkansas and Louisiana lowering their own rates.
Across the US, nearly three in four Americans are overweight or obese, doubling since the 1990s.
This costs the average US nearly $173million per year.
According to Kaiser Family Foundation, healthcare for obesity and weight-related health issues costs about $8,000 per person per year, while the average family in West Virginia pays just under $7,000 in federal income tax.
In the US, four in 10 adults are considered obese. West Virginia leads the country with an obesity rate of 41 percent (stock image)
Mr Charrow wrote: ‘If one person in a family of two were to cease being obese or overweight, the $8,000 savings would more than compensate for the $6,850 loss in federal income tax for that family.’
West Virginia leads the nation in diabetes, heart disease, and high cholesterol.
According to data from the UnitedHealth Foundation, 19 percent of adults in West Virginia have been diagnosed with diabetes, 40 percent more than the national average of 11.5 percent.
About 14 percent of adults have heart disease, nearly double the national average. And 45 percent of West Virginia’s population has high cholesterol compared to 37 percent in the US overall.
West Virginia also records more premature deaths than any other US state, one-third more than the national average, which could be tied to high obesity levels.
In the US, three-quarters of US adults are considered overweight (having a BMI over 25) or obese (having a BMI over 30), according to the latest CDC data.
West Virginia has the highest rate of obesity at 41 percent, with Arkansas, Mississippi, and Louisiana following closely behind at 40 percent.
Mr Charrow also pointed to other countries with lower obesity rates that slimmed down with government mandates and incentives.
He said: ‘If this were France or Japan, the central government would dictate that everyone must be thin, and by golly, everyone would be thin.’
In 1904, for example, French officials sought to improve infant mortality rates by focusing on the health of the mothers.
Government officials dictated education on portion control to keep mothers slim.
More recently, in 2017, France banned unlimited refills of sugary drinks in public spaces like restaurants and school cafeterias.
The government has also implemented taxes on sodas and foods high in salt, fat, sugar, and caffeine.
According to the latest available data, France’s national obesity rate is 17 percent, less than half that of the US.
The proposed measure would allow people in West Virginia (pictured here) to skip out on federal income taxes for up to five years if state obesity rates go down to 25 percent
In Japan, schools by law have to employ a dedicated nutritionist to design meals with small, minimally processed portions and educate parents and students about their benefits.
School principals are also legally required to ensure meals meet strict nutritional guidelines.
In Japan, less than five percent of the population is obese, one-eighth the rate of the US.
Though it’s unclear what West Virginia would do to lower obesity rates, states like Colorado and California have implemented bills requiring Medicaid to cover obesity treatments and making restaurant labels state nutritional information.
Mr Charrow wrote: ‘In addition to improving health, the proposed program would provide West Virginians with an economic incentive to reduce their weight.
‘American ingenuity is at its peak when avoiding federal income tax. This proposal harnesses that ingenuity allowing the rest of us to learn from West Virginia’s experience.’
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
