Healthy Workers Could Get Bigger Insurance Breaks

Only half the solution - fat workers have to get much bigger premiums.

"A health care reform proposal that would allow employers and insurers to give large discounts to employees who lose weight or lower their cholesterol is facing push back from several groups worried about premium disparities, Kaiser Health News reports.

'The discounts are being pushed by Steve Burd, the chief executive officer of Safeway Inc., who has met with several lawmakers on Capitol Hill and says that rewarding healthy behavior has helped keep his firm's health care costs flat while other companies' have skyrocketed.

'But the proposal, which involves the sensitive issue of how aggressive employers can be in trying to induce workers to change their behavior to reduce their risks of disease, is greeted by skepticism by many patient advocates who think it could be coercive and unfair.'"

Imagine that.

It is unfair to charge fatsos, who consume greater resources together with their Calories, more.

Hey, next time your auto premiums go up after an accident, try the "coercive and unfair" excuse. Seems to work.

"'Under current law, employers and insurers are permitted to give discounts of up to 20 percent on premiums, co-payments or deductibles to workers who take part in wellness programs, which include anti-smoking and weight-loss programs. Some wellness programs simply require participation in order to get the discount but other programs require employees to reduce their weight, blood pressure or cholesterol by specific levels.' The health overhaul bill passed by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee 'would allow employers to increase those discounts to 30 percent and up to 50 percent if the secretaries of Labor, Health and Human Services and Treasury agree. A House proposal would allow employers to charge workers who participate in wellness programs 50 percent less than workers who don't' (Carey, 7/28)."

Sh*t for brains alert!

Paying fat people to "participate" instead of actually succeed at weight loss.

A loophole so big a fat person could fit through.

And does.

Morons.

(Forget, for the moment, the fact that wellness programs have no hope of working, anyway.)

In any event, the likelihood of really doing the complete right thing package, i.e., charge intended-weight humans way less, charge fatsos way more, is small.

Too bad.