Posted on 08/22/2008 8:18:33 AM PDT by cdga5for4
MONTGOMERY, Ala. - Alabama, pushed to second in national obesity rankings by deep-fried Southern favorites, is cracking down on state workers who are too fat.
The state has given its 37,527 employees a year to start getting fit or they'll pay $25 a month for insurance that otherwise is free.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
The news isn’t that there will be a $25 charge for their health insurance. The news is that the employees don’t pay a dime in the first place. Must be nice.
Yea, in this case, the “free” insurance is payed by the taxpayers.
$25 a month???? How About $100-$200 a month? They get FREE INSURANCE? If I was a resident of Alabama I’d be screaming....wonder how much the employees of companies there have to pay for THEIR insurance as a matter of course.
$25 is less that I pay now for my insurance....
dittos. EVERY employee should be paying something. Not just the fat ones.
The war on the overweight is only beginning.
This year Alabama will see a spike in gastric bypass and liposuction surgeries.
Just a little paraphrase.
We told them the smokers were only the beginning ping.
Freepers have an interesting view of liberty.
Some things are about personal choice and liberty, such as consuming resources in a disproportionate fashion simply because one can afford it.
But other things can be universally condemned as costing an employer therefore not a valid choice, such as smoking and being obese.
That being said I do not see why anyone would want to be obese. I used to be for a short period in my life after I got married. I have slimmed down now and eat right. I do cheat once in a while. But everything is better when you are in shape. Period.
“First they came for the smokers.....
Then they came for the fatties.........
Then they came for the _______________.......
When they came for me there was no one left to ally with.
Just a little paraphrase.”
We are on the same page.
If Obama is elected I’ll tell you what’s next. You’ll be paying $50 a round for ammo.
They don't seem to realize how ruinous state and municipal spending is as well.
I'm OK with 30 cents of my federal tax dollar going to pay for a military that can respond in hours to any threat anywhere on the planet.
I'm not so OK with 30 cents of my property tax dollar going to a local police force that took TEN MINUTES to respond to a 911 call of shots fired a QUARTER MILE from their closest stationhouse.
or they’ll pay $25 a month for insurance that otherwise is free.
Time to sue.
Does the State charge extra for employees
that smoke
that use drugs
that use alcohol
that live in high crime areas
who engage is health risky homosexual sex
that are liberal
The state should require employees to smoke and gain weight. Then their early demise will cut pension payments. This would appear to be the only means of relief for the beleaguered taxpayer.
I hate these “chart based insurance rates” as I am off several charts. I am 43 and go 5’11” and weigh 200 - considered overweight by any chart you can find. I was considered “high risk” by the insurance. Let’s just say she didn’t need a tourniquet to find an artery in my arm. I have about 7% bodyfat and my inseam is still longer than my waist size - yet I am high risk if you go strictly by the charts.
Waist size vs. height is a much better metric, but it is rarely used.
I work for a Fortune 500 company, and the way they work it is to charge the employees a whole lot for insurance, then offer discounts for you running thru a lot of hoops. If I log 20 miles a week walking, I get a discount, I quit smoking last year and got another discount, go get a physical once a year, and another discount, etc. My wife, same deal. I had a goal of losing weight and getting after my health anyway, so it wasn’t too big of a deal. And my wife is a health nut and runner, so she hasn’t an issue with it either.
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