Mike Huckabee
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Huckabee Mike Huckabee
In 2003, Mike Huckabee, the governor of Arkansas, learned he had type 2 diabetes and that terrified him to lose 110 pounds. But when he looks at their state budget, and sees that every year their Medicaid budget is increasing by 9-10%, and looks at state employees' health plans and sees that those costs are escalating at double digits and twice the rate of inflation, as a fiscal manager, he has the right and responsibility to see what they can do to improve this bottom-line cost. Repeatedly, he came back to the same argument: Obesity is reducing not only the quality of life of Americans, but also the fiscal soundness of their government and the competitiveness of their businesses. He argues that it would be worth paying small sums, for a session with a fitness trainer or a diet counselor, to avoid paying for heart disease and diabetes later.