A Falmouth woman has filed a class-action lawsuit against her health insurance company, claiming that it illegally discriminated against her based on her disability — obesity — because it refused to cover her weight loss medication.
[RELATED: 30% of Maine High School Students Overweight or Obese…]
“This type of discrimination is not new; rather, it follows from a long history of prejudice, exclusion, and stigmatization of people with disabilities in general and of people diagnosed with obesity, in particular,” said 29-year-old Jamie Whittemore in her complaint.
“Defendant Cigna Health and Life Insurance Company (“Cigna”) discriminates on the basis of disability when it designs and/or administers health plans that exclude all coverage for prescription medications to treat obesity, a medical condition that is also a disability,” she added.
The class-action lawsuit rests of the premise that obesity, which can also be treated with exercise and dieting, is, in fact, a disability which must be treated with medication.
Whittemore , who works for Maine’s public university system, was prescribed Ozempic in February 2023, and it was initially covered.
In August, however, she was notified that her insurance would no longer pay for her Ozempic, despite her claims that the drug is “medically necessary” to treat her “disability.”
She was also denied coverage for another weight loss drug, Zepbound.
Whittemore has claimed that she cannot afford to purchase the medication without the help of insurance.
As part of the terms of Cigna’s health coverage agreement with Whittemore, the company states that it will not cover medication meant to treat obesity.
Her attorney, Jeffrey Young, claims that the company is nevertheless required by law to cover the medication, since failure to do so constitutes discrimination based on disability.
Young claimed that Whittemore’s class-action suit is the first of its kind in the country.
The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) does not specifically list obesity as a disability; however, some courts have determined that obesity can be considered a disability in certain cases, such as when there is an underlying medical issue that prevents someone from losing weight by exercising and eating less.
It is unclear from the lawsuit and other press coverage whether she has an underlying condition that has contributed to her obesity.
<span class="dsq-postid" data-dsqidentifier="28448 https://www.themainewire.com/?p=28448">12 Comments
What the fuck is wrong with people?? We live in a country that pushes processed foods so the government can profit. WHO profits from that big PHARMA. Of course this woman is going to blame them she is a “victim”… no accountability??? Who has any accountability these days? More meds? Food? Social media? Rather than actually look and realize…who is making any money??? The courts…her attorney…she needs to stop having ANY faith in the system. And become a state national.
During the 1789 revolution the French had a system that could remove ugly fat with hardly any effort or cost but was sadly outlawed in 1981. Everything old is new again.
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The insurance company shouldn’t cover any pills unless she’s been working at least two years to control herself when it comes to eating and doing exercises to get healthy.
Being fat is not a disability, it’s lack of will to control yourself.
No pictures, but I’m betting this sow has plenty of money for food. How about diverting some resources to your meds if you really need them.
I hope the burden is on her to PROVE WITH EVIDENCE that she’s dieted and exercised for a length of time and that it did not work. Also, in the meantime, she should subtract $100/week from her grocery and fast food drive thru budget, and send it over to Ozempic.
I bet this sow sits on her fat ass in front of the tv every night eating her chips, soda and Twinkies and then blames everyone else for her being a fatso. No sense of responsibility for oneself and ones actions. No drug will overcome a lack of willpower as obesity is not a physical disease. Too bad there isn’t a pill that makes you work your ass off. If there was she wouldn’t be suing for that.
Maybe if Jamie Whittemore would just stop buying Twinke’s to stuff in her fat face she might lose a few pounds without the use of drugs. Clearly this fat tub of lard has no self control. Losing weight is simple for those who have self control and eat a balanced diet. I hope and pray that the court won’t even hear the case and it get thrown out.
Give it to her — just don’t mention the explosive diarrhea because that will be funny.
Humanity is lost! When you can sit behind a screen and judge someone you don’t know, you have lost perspective and any ounce of empathy. As someone who battled obesity for decades, excercised regularly, ate well balanced with no high fructose or processed foods, I know this struggle! Sometimes genetics simply impacts your abilty to make changes no matter what you do. This may very well be the same situation she is in. How dare any of you attack her like this! We are all on this planet together. Heaven forbid this happen to someone you know and love!
Same is true for Rybelsus. Hope they add that to the Class Action suit. It is damned expensive to pay out of pocket. And I am confident it is the weight-loss attribute of the main ingredient. My M’Care company is Aetna.
SHE is a FAT HOG because she has no impulse control….Glue her mouth shut !