State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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[ House Amendment 001 ][ House Amendment 002 ]

91_HB1835

 
                                               LRB9103347DJcd

 1        AN ACT to amend the Civil Administrative Code of Illinois
 2    by adding Section 55.91.

 3        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 4    represented in the General Assembly:

 5        Section  5.  The Civil Administrative Code of Illinois is
 6    amended by adding Section 55.91 as follows:

 7        (20 ILCS 2310/55.91 new)
 8        Sec. 55.91. Obesity study.
 9        (a) The General Assembly finds as follows:
10             (1) A causal relationship exists between obesity and
11        a number of serious  disorders,  including  hypertension,
12        dyslipidemia,   cardiovascular  disease,  diabetes  (type
13        two), gallbladder disease, respiratory dysfunction, gout,
14        and osteoarthritis.
15             (2) The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive
16        and  Kidney  Diseases  has  provided  information   which
17        indicates  that  nearly  80%  of  patients  with diabetes
18        mellitus are  obese  and  the  incidence  of  symptomatic
19        gallstones  soars as a person's body mass index increases
20        beyond a certain level.
21             (3) The information also reveals that nearly 70%  of
22        diagnosed  cases of cardiovascular disease are related to
23        obesity; obesity more than doubles a person's chances  of
24        developing  high  blood  pressure;  almost half of breast
25        cancer cases are diagnosed among obese women; and 42%  of
26        colon cancer cases are among obese individuals.
27             (4)  Obesity  ranks  second  only  to  smoking  as a
28        preventable cause of death and results  in  some  300,000
29        deaths annually.
30             (5) It is estimated that 35% of the adult population
31        is  obese  and  the prevalence of obesity grew a shocking
 
                            -2-                LRB9103347DJcd
 1        34% during the past 10 years.
 2             (6) A 1997 study by Kaiser Permanente indicated that
 3        the total direct costs of obesity-related diseases in the
 4        United States in 1990 was $45.8 billion; the Kaiser study
 5        concluded that there is a  significant  potential  for  a
 6        reduction  in  health  care  expenditures through obesity
 7        prevention efforts.
 8             (7) There is an urgent need for  state  health  care
 9        groups  and medical societies to place obesity at the top
10        of Illinois' health care agenda.
11             (8) Many physicians do  not  treat  obesity  because
12        they mistakenly believe there is no treatment for it.
13             (9)  The  National Institute of Health, the American
14        Society for Bariatric Surgery, and the  American  Obesity
15        Association  recommend  that  patients  who  are morbidly
16        obese receive responsible, affordable  medical  treatment
17        for their obesity.
18             (10)  The  diagnosis  of  morbid obesity should be a
19        clinical decision made by a  physician  based  on  proper
20        medical protocols.
21             (11)  The  recent  breakthroughs in drug therapy can
22        treat obesity successfully and the New England Journal of
23        Medicine  recently  emphasized  the  legitimate  use   of
24        pharmacotherapy  as a component of treatment of medically
25        significant obesity.
26             (12) The new breakthroughs in obesity treatment  are
27        not  widely  known and efforts must be made to inform the
28        general  public  and  health  care   professionals   that
29        pharmacotherapy   can   be   used  as  an  effective  and
30        cost-effective treatment for obesity.
31             (13) There is  also  great  concern  regarding  what
32        effect  obesity in children may have on overall health in
33        children, health care costs for children,  and  treatment
34        modalities to address the problem of obesity in children.
 
                            -3-                LRB9103347DJcd
 1             (14) The study by the Department of Public Health as
 2        provided  in  this  Section  is  critical  to  raise  the
 3        awareness  of the public and private sectors that obesity
 4        is a disease of epidemic proportions  that  is  treatable
 5        and  that  proper treatment will reduce health care costs
 6        and improve the quality of life for a large number of our
 7        citizens.
 8        (b) The Department  of  Public  Health  shall  study  the
 9    effect  of  obesity,  in  both adults and children, on costly
10    health complications such as  diabetes,  hypertension,  heart
11    disease,  and  stroke  and  shall  make  recommendations  for
12    improving  public and private sector awareness of the problem
13    of  obesity  and   suggested   treatment   modalities.    The
14    Department  shall  report  the  findings of the study and the
15    recommendations to the  Governor  and  the  General  Assembly
16    within  6  months after the effective date of this amendatory
17    Act of the 91st General Assembly.

18        Section 99.  Effective date.  This Act takes effect  upon
19    becoming law.

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