@other commenters: How much more does it really cost to transport an obese person in an ambulance? To the extent that it's a personal failing, it should take a health-related toll. The tofu-gobbling types should not make it take a financial one as well by wielding their moral superiority over the obese, whom studies have shown eat poorly because they're poor, or on occasion depressed. Charging fat people extra for things like this is a regressive tax, and ostracizing them is an insane and self righteous way to convince ourselves that we're better than other people because we can afford soy milk.

This article is an oasis of logic in an otherwise strange and nonsensical campaign by Slate to make prosecuting fat people seem less morally repugnant than it actually is.

Ok, look. I'm a very average earner. I don't eat tofu. I don't drink soy milk. I still manage not to be obese. I don't know what is up with the attacks on fat people. Fat is certainly not the only unhealthy vice around. Mostly this extra charge would be stupid- broke, uninsured fatties would just not pay it along with the rest of the gigantic medical bill they didn't pay. The rest of us would subsidize the extra debt like we subsidize the extra costs of fat ambulances, hydraulic beds and four-person wheel chairs. If the government wanted to do something about obesity, they'd tax corn syrup, fast food and giant-screen tv's and subsidize fitness clubs, fresh produce and family farms. They'd remove coke machines from public schools and bring back P.E. class. They'd revise that absurd food pyramid, not that anyone pays it any mind.

I'm an ICU and ER nurse. We have bought a lot of special equipment for the obese, and use a lot more staff. To put a foley catheter in an obese women can take up to 5 people. That takes away from the rest of the patients in a hospital. It can take up to 2 people to hold up the panus (that fat that hangs over the crotch of the obese) in order to try to clean them. Dont get me started on all the injuries that occur with moving folks that big. The lift helps, but we are unable to turn them completely. When we do the baths, most the nurses and techs on the unit have to come into the room to help, this leaves very few to watch all the other patients. I think if you require extra equipment or people, then yes you should pay for it. I do eat tofu, I bike to work, I'm probably 20 lbs over weight, but I want to be a partner in my health, not expect everyone to take care of me. I want to be empowered. Eating healthy is not very expensive. I think the real cost is the eating of fast food and junk food, although its cheap, its true costs are enormous.

No one is prosecuting fat people and with one is going to bring morals into the picture than one could say it is the obese that are imoral since they expect to get additonal services without having to pay additonal cost. That is stealing!

So chill out and stop with the over the top BS rhetoric. This isn't a tax since we are taking about private businesses and it has nothing to do with morals.

All anyone is saying here is that it is fair to charge more when it cost a company more to service someone. This basic concept is used in all lines of businesses. e.g. it cost more to get a RV washed than a compact car.

If you don't wish to be charged more stop stuffing your face.

First of all, yes, I am still classified as obese, although finally I am nearing being moved down to
the classification "overweight." I am appalled by the number of people using derogatory terms to refer to people who are obese - fatties, chubbies, blobs, etcetera - even from people who are opposing increased charges for ambulance service. I suppose it is somewhat naiive, but I did not realize people were calling me names as though we were all on a playground in the fourth grade. Secondly, medical issues and medications that cause weight gain are part of the problem for some patients, though certainly not all. I ended up with a weight gain of nearly 40 pounds over the course of a month 4 years ago, and it was only at my last weigh in that I finally lost that weight. It is not that I have not been trying to lose it; I have been working with a combination of portion control, consuming more water, and increasing exercise. I have never consumed sodas except on special occasions, like at our 4th of July picnics or something similar, and then they are in fact diet. However, certain medications can in fact affect your metabolism, and then if you lose your job, it becomes much more difficult to base meals around fresh, fibrous vegetables due to cost and I had to discontinue my gym membership which means the only weights I have access to are things like soup cans until I manage to freecycle or garage sale a set of aerobic weights. It is still possible to cook healthy, fat-free dishes, but it is more difficult, and though I can exercise at home it was much more comfortable for me knowing that I was being supervised to avoid injury and had immediate access to medical care if something like a TIA or DVT happened whilst exercising - a real risk for me due to genetic problems, and a risk increased by my obesity.

I completely agree that diet is a huge factor in weight loss or weight maintenance; however, when you can buy a very high-fat, high-sodium "meal in a box" or something similar for 29 cents versus approximately $6 for the ingredients for a healthy meal, which do you think financially strapped families are going to purchase? There is some definite nutritional loss for low income families, at least those who don't wish to either accept public aid or go into debt for groceries.

Gold4:

@other commenters: How much more does it really cost to transport an obese person in an ambulance? To the extent that it's a personal failing, it should take a health-related toll. The tofu-gobbling types should not make it take a financial one as well by wielding their moral superiority over the obese, whom studies have shown eat poorly because they're poor, or on occasion depressed. Charging fat people extra for things like this is a regressive tax, and ostracizing them is an insane and self righteous way to convince ourselves that we're better than other people because we can afford soy milk.

This article is an oasis of logic in an otherwise strange and nonsensical campaign by Slate to make prosecuting fat people seem less morally repugnant than it actually is.

Unless you are involved in medical care, its hard to picture all the additional costs. Take operating on a modbidly obese patient for example. Often 1 or 2 additional bodies are necessary to hold back the panus and obtain surgical exposure. Time of procedure can easily be doubled, greatly adding to all the costs. More anesthetic is required. More surgical supplies are used. The costs are simply much higher. Hospitalization is longer and complications are more likely. Now the hospital typically is able to charge specific fees for most of the expenses. Why shouldnt an ambulance?

For the EMS people, it ussually means 2 crews responding to the call. It means speacialized gourneys and ambulances to fit the patients. It generally takes more time to complete the transfer. These things cost money. Its not about fat hatred. Its about business trying to charge a fee compensatory to their expenses.

This article is completely misleading. No one is charged for being overweight. You are charged for services rendered, as mandated in Los Angeles by the county EMS Agency. If you use oxygen, you are charged for that. If two crews are required, you are charged for two crews. There is no charge for being fat. There is no discrimination. The more serious your illness, the more services you require, the more you are charged in accordance with your needs. Yikes, people, calm down.