Just put a significant surtax on food, particularly on processed food.
WSJ: New research shows medical spending averages $1,400 more a year for an obese person than for someone who's normal weight.
Overall obesity-related health spending reaches $147 billion, double what it was nearly a decade ago, says the study published Monday by the journal Health Affairs.
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Obesity-related conditions now account for 9.1% of all medical spending, up from 6.5% in 1998, the study concluded.
So, taxing food raises revenue needed to insure the uninsured. And, if the tax is high enough, it will also discourage overconsumption, which will in turn reduce obesity and, more importantly, obesity-related healthcare costs.
But, this just makes too much sense. So, instead of taxing food to reduce consumption, we subsidize its production to insure more of it.
Insane.
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