A somewhat controversial revelation surrounding the Trump administration has been leaked.
President Donald Trump is reportedly ordering the State Department to deny obese foreigners from entering the U.S.
Given that, on average, obese people require extensive health-related expenses, the administration believes that allowing an influx of diagnosed foreigners into the country could overwhelm the healthcare system.
Officials in the State Department are required to ask foreigners if they have the means to cover their own healthcare costs.
“Does the applicant have adequate financial resources to cover the costs of such care over his entire expected lifespan without seeking public cash assistance or long-term institutionalization at government expense?” officials must ask, according to the Daily Mail.
The worldwide obesity rate, including the U.S., is about 16% or 890 million adults.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), this staggering figure has more than doubled since 1990.
Top White House officials, such as Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., have sounded the alarm on obesity in the U.S.
In an April HHS press release, Kennedy said his goal was to “Make America Healthy Again.”
RFK Jr. pointed out that the healthcare system in the U.S. spends much more than other countries, but, despite this, has one of the highest rates of unhealthy people in the world.
“Study after study shows that America spends more on health care than any other country in the world by a large margin. At HHS alone, we spend $1.7 trillion annually. This is nearly one-third of our entire federal budget and almost 7% of our country’s gross domestic product. Despite this extravagant spending, our country’s health is declining,” RFK Jr. said.
“America has the highest rates of chronic disease in the world. We rank last in terms of health among developed nations. And life expectancy is declining for many groups of Americans,” he added.
The State Department’s latest move to restrict obese foreigners from entering the U.S. could be a way to provide some breathing room to an already suffocated healthcare system.
The president has taken action to reduce the obesity rate in the U.S.
Just six days ago, the White House announced a significant reduction in the cost of fat-loss drugs, such as Ozempic, by $1,000, as part of an agreement with pharmaceutical manufacturers.
“The agreement represents a historic reduction in prices for Americans on the two drugs with the highest annual expenditures in the United States, both of which help adults struggling with diabetes, heart disease (Ozempic and Wegovy only), obesity, and other conditions,” the White House said in a statement.
