Not everyone has to be on a strict diet or on formula. Families with PKU have pressed state legislators to require insurance coverage for food. Over the past two years, this has increased the number of states requiring coverage. Legislators, however, have worried that food bought for special diets will actually go to feed other members of the family, especially in view of the apparently large sums requested. A look at the food list below should dispel that belief.
Special food is expensive.
A person with PKU costs several times more to feed than a person without it, and there is unlikely to be money left over to feed other family members. Most people without PKU are not particularly eager to eat special PKU food anyway, certainly not the formula. As things stand now, the small midwestern boy is likely to continue subsisting on popsicles for some time. Even if his state changes the law to require insurance coverage, he may still be eating popsicles unless his family is insured by an insurance company or HMO, not a self-insured employer. In the long run, it's not good for anybody, including society.