TRUMP is set to ban obese foreigners from entry to the United States, as he crackdowns on immigration visas.
Overweight immigrants will be denied US visas if embassies follow Donald Trump’s latest immigration directive, which instructs consular officials to consider banning people who suffer from certain health conditions.
Obesity is among several chronic afflictions which could see immigrants rejected by the US, along with sleep apnea, high blood pressure and asthma.
In an attempt to avoid immigrants relying on public benefits paid by taxpayers, the directive issued by the state department last week urges embassy officials to consider applicant’s health and financial status when granting visas.
Consular officials will now have more authority to veto applicants experts say, widening criteria on health screenings that have long been part of visa applications.
The directive, obtained by KFF Health News, states: “Certain medical conditions — including, but not limited to, cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, cancers, diabetes, metabolic diseases, neurological diseases and mental-health conditions — can require hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of care.”
It goes on to pose the question: “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 institutionalisation at government expense?”
Avoiding immigrants ending up in nursing-home stays, or other long-term institutions, which costs “hundreds of thousands of dollars per year” is also part of the crackdown.
Preventing strain on public resources appears to be at the core of the new guidance, with people of retirement age also having to prove they can support themselves.
“Self-sufficiency has been a long-standing principle of US immigration policy,” the directive read.
“And the public-charge ground of inadmissibility has been a part of our immigration law for more than 100 years.”
The fat ban directive came the same day President Trump announced a deal to cut the cost of weight-loss drugs.
Last week’s agreement will make oral and injectable versions of GLP-1s from Eli Lilly and Novo Nordisk cheaper and more readily available.
The “fat jab” launch will reduce the cost of the drugs for some patients and expand access to them for people on public health insurance.
The oral drugs, which aren’t on the market yet, will be $150 per month for starting doses, with the injectable version to be $350 on average, which will “trend down” to $245 a month over the next two years.
The “fat drugs”, as described by President Trump, will be listed on TrumpRx, a Trump-branded public website for prescription drugs, to be purchased directly from the manufacturer.
