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Public Defender Appeals to Insurance Company relating to Discrimination on Grounds of Obesity

The Public Defender of Georgia has established indirect discrimination by Imedi L Insurance Company against an insured person diagnosed with obesity.

Based on the evidence and the explanations of the parties, it was established that the insurance company equates an exceptional case - "costs related to weight correction" with the diagnosis of obesity. As a result, patients diagnosed with obesity are not entitled to reimbursement for the examinations and manipulations that would have been reimbursed in the absence of the mentioned diagnosis. The Public Defender found that the company's practice puts overweight patients in a disadvantageous situation and restricts their access to medical services.

Based on the above, the Public Defender made a recommendation to the Director General of JSC Imedi L Insurance Company to formulate an exceptional case of weight correction in the health insurance contracts concluded with consumers in such a way in the future as to correspond to the protocol of the management of excess weight and obesity approved by the relevant order, while in relation to persons who have already signed the health insurance contracts with the company, the "costs related to weight correction" should be explained and enforced in accordance with the protocol on the management of excess weight and obesity. In addition, the Public Defender called on the Head of LEPL State Insurance Supervision Service of Georgia to share this recommendation with the insurance companies operating in Georgia.

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