Benefits managers’ attitudes toward obesity treatment coverage

Despite the existence of effective treatments, obesity continues to present a severe public health crisis. Limited access to treatments works against efforts to reduce obesity prevalence. A major barrier to treatment access is a lack of insurance coverage. This study focused on an important population of stakeholders: benefits managers. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationships between attitudes about insurance coverage of obesity treatments and obesity stigma. Benefits managers have the ability to advocate for insurance coverage of medical interventions. We assessed whether attitudes toward covering obesity benefits for employees could be modified by receiving targeted information or were associated with particular factors. We recruited participants from Dun & Bradstreet's employer database using emails. Participants were randomized to one of three conditions that provided written information about: (1) prevalence of obesity (control), (2) prevalence + financial implications of obesity, and (3) prevalence + physiology of obesity. Questionnaires were self-administered online. The response rate was 4.8%, with 404 participants meeting eligibility criteria. While attitudes toward coverage of obesity interventions did not differ significantly based on condition (p > 0.05), gender, history of previous obesity treatment, and an individual's likelihood to attribute obesity to biological and environmental factors showed significant associations with supporting coverage of obesity treatment (p < 0.05). Findings suggest that understanding obesity as a condition caused by biological factors as opposed to personal responsibility and behavior is associated with greater support for coverage of all its treatments.