Delegates to the Minnesota Medical Association meeting in Duluth this week are taking on several controversial health care issues including payment for obesity treatment and proposed additional federal regulation of painkillers. Minnesota Public Radio's Stephanie Hemphill reports. { The MMA is in the process of deciding its policy goals for the coming year. Some have to do with the nuts and bolts of medical practice, like whether LPN's should be giving innoculations and whether a national data bank on malpractice actions should be made public. Others address public health and medical ethics issues. Quite a few advocate for better access to health care. This last category includes two resolutions on obesity, which some experts say is verging on a national epidemic. By one estimate, just over half of Americans are overweight. Obesity is linked to serious medical problems including diabetes, cardiovascular disease and arthritis. But most insurance companies don't cover treatment for obesity. St. Paul endocrinologist Dr. Michael Gonzales CamPOY says insurers still see obesity as a moral failing and are skeptical of the available treatments.