Posted on 10/11/2007 2:35:03 AM PDT by tlb
Why not go after fat people? Being fat carries a higher risk of possible health problems later, right?. Genetically overweight? Unless you can prove it's genetic, you'll probably get penalized for laziness and overeating. Next they'll demand to come to your home and inspect it for anything they consider to be unsafe conditions. We all know more accidents occur in the home, right?. Are you doing your thirty-minute walk at least three times a week? No? Ooohh, too much junk food in your pantry? That rug there, tripping hazard. How often do you climb that ladder over there? Commute to work on a motorcycle? Risky choice. Choose instead to drive a large carbon footprint? Ah, now you are risking the health of others, and drowning polar bears as well. Own a gun?
The place where I work has banned smoking anywhere on their (substantially large) company-managed property, including the parking lots and your car. You can't walk all the way out to the parking lot and smoke in your own car. (I don't smoke). Then there is the other do-gooder feel-good nonsense called "Behavior Based Assessment" where someone follows you around observing your normal daily routine and taking notes. Then they sit you down and tell you what you should do to 'reduce your health risks' (you looked over your shoulder and greeted someone while walking down the hall today. Tsk tsk, you could've walked into a wall). And now that we've made your work environment "safe" (all done under the excuse of creating a better work environment, reducing health costs and increasing the quality of life for our employees) let's discuss your hobbies...
If we never make an insurance claim and stay healthy, we just keep paying those ever-increasing insurance premiums for nothing in return, and the insurance companies get to keep the money, all the while penalizing us for engaging in what they determine to be risky behavior.
They may consider it "risky behavior", but I call it "enjoying life". I would really like all the meddlers out there to stop "helping" me, and just leave me the hell alone. Whatever happened to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness"? Life itself is a risk, and in the end, we're still going to die anyway.
< /rant>
Perfect!
Funny thing is, people living on the dole don’t put up with this crap.
I think everyone should pay for the true cost of their insurance. If you have greater risk factors like smoking or being fat then your insurance should be higher. Its no different than charging more for car insurance when the driver has a bunch of DUI’s or speeding insurance.
That's the way it used to be. Now it is illegal for insurance companies to charge more for auto insurance for Newark residents as compared with moi who lives about 15 miles west, even though people who live where I do are a much lower risk. I think the same is true for taking level of education into account. (Hmmm. I wonder why this is.) There is no risk that I will become pregnant, but I must be part of a group that pays out maternity/abortion benefits. It is illegal to charge geezers more than 20 year-olds for health insurance, though for some reason it's okay to charge 20 year-olds more for auto insurance. Etc., etc., usw.
ML/NJ
Sure_fine while the company hasn't started charging overweight employees more yet, employees who go through a health screening that measures body mass index, blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol get an additional premium reduction.
Logical consequences, people.
And why should they? They have us healthy employed people to carry the load, and it's not fair that we should have what they don't but don't worry Hillary! is going to take things away from you for the common good and save us all from ourselves and I need to take a deeeeep breath, take my hands off the keyboard and step away from the computer....
The company I work for has had a smokers surcharge on their health benefits premiums for several years now. It has led several employees to quit smoking. Now the company is refocusing their attention from illness treatment to “wellness and illness preventative” measures. I think this is a plan to help the company create the case to begin penalizing overweight employees. It’s coming. They’re gonna force us all to do what’s best for us whether we want to or not. Alcohol drinkers, you’re next. Motorcycle riders, get in line. Those of you with genetic predispositioned diseases.....you’re time is coming.
ML/NJ
don't forget the stressed out workers, they are higher risk for MI's.
That is a very reasonable suggestion. Our company tried to do something along that line by increasing the co-pay. I think I'd rather see the overall premium be adjusted. Of course, the way my wife likes to run to the doctor and take our kids to the doctor it would probably end up costing me a lot more. Still, it would be fair.
and the ones who chip finger nails, they could get infections
and how about the ones with dentures, they could sneeze them out and hit you in eye
Charge black people more because of higher risks of blood pressure, strokes.
Charge Hispanics more because of higher risks of diabetes.
Charge more to anyone who participates in extreme sports.
Definitely charge single people more than married.
Charge women of childbearing age more; they might have a baby who needs $500,000 of neonatal intensive care.
Charge older workers more; they get sick more often.
See where this is going?
The point is, GROUP insurance is just that. Once you start cherry-picking in GROUP insurance, it's no longer a GROUP policy. How companies legally got away with picking off smokers, I can't imagine. Now that the camel's nose is in the tent, just about any sub-group of people can be analyzed and singled out, because of *something* they do, because of *some* feature they have, that will cost the company more money in health insurance.
If I were queen of the forest, I'd make sure that every company that cherry-picks for whatever reason would LOSE their tax break for group insurance. Because once you start selecting, it's not group insurance anymore.
It makes way, way too much sense.
Just think of all the poor government bureaucrats that would be out of a job were your commonsense idea adopted.
:)
Wanna see the future of healthcare in this country? Take a gander at my tag line.
I agree with this, to a certain extent, like you say. If an individual is engaging in riskier behavior, the cost of that risk should not be forcibly “shared” with everyone else.
HOWEVER - you know that the left will not allow the individual to have to pay more for riskier behaviors such as homosexual lifestyles, sex outside of marriage, drug use, etc.
Like you said, it’s politically correct to have the individual shoulder his own burden for his own choices in SOME areas, but not in others.
Political Correctness = outlawing the speaking of the truth.
I heard the future on FoxNews the other night. People will have to take regular physicals, threadmills, EKG/EEG's, the whole bit.
Those who exercise and have improved health stats will pay less, those who gain weight or don't show health improvement will pay more.
And this is before we get to drinking. They'll control everything we eat, drink, smoke, every drug - prescription or not - that we take.
It's a slow road to the gestapo. And it's not just smokers anymore.
It's YOU!
The dirty BIG secret behind socialized healthcare is between the lines of your post -
once they get everyone dependent on a common system, any behavior that they don’t like will be called a “burden on the healthcare system” and you will be forced to comply or not get treated - like that poor bastid in England who can’t get his ankle operated on because he smokes.
What about all those taxes and surcharges on cigarettes we ALREADY pay, that were justified (way back when) by increased tobacco risks, but went to something else instead?
How many state and local budgets do smokers already balance? Seems to me the government at all levels is funding schools, etc. on the backs of smokers.
At least we could get a “good citizen” award, instead of being sneered at. Sheesh!
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