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.
Dont feel bad. I am 38 5'11'' and weigh 185. very good shape very little fat and I am MORBIDLY OBESE by these charts.
ME TOO! BMI sucks.....my husband’s company’s little “survey” we took to save $100 on our deductibles told me I was fat and drank too much wine.....because of the BMI only chart they used, and I said I drank a glass of red wine a day.....I’m in better shape than lots of people 20-30 years younger than me! (Lots more muscle mass than most which as you know means a higher weight)
ME TOO! BMI sucks.....my husband’s company’s little “survey” we took to save $100 on our deductibles told me I was fat and drank too much wine.....because of the BMI only chart they used, and I said I drank a glass of red wine a day.....I’m in better shape than lots of people 20-30 years younger than me! (Lots more muscle mass than most which as you know means a higher weight, plus really strong bones)
In my late 20s, I was 6-7 and 215 pounds. Hardly any body fat. BMI said I was borderline overweight, even though I was doing four-hour plus workouts.
Any system that does not accomodate natural human variability is stupid.
Every employee does pay, in the form of reduced wages for the amount the company (state) picks up. If the company passed the dollar amount on to the employee, the employee would likely get paid the difference and then be deducted the premium from their paycheck. Nets the same regardless.
So why not just give them the surgery on their stomach....what it is called...lapband? Would that not be cheaper?
BMI values are calculated using a base population that consists (or really consisted) of middle-class adult Belgians in the 1840s.
It's ridiculous.
You’ve noticed that too!
You brought up an excellent point!!!!!!!!!
Why are the filthy disease ridden queers not made to pay $100. dollars extra??????????????
Do you know how much AIDS costs the health care system? Much much more the fat people do!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This has been one of those quiet secrets that most folks from Bama don’t blab much about. You have to remember this....while they get free health insurance...they get paid $18k to $28k for most state jobs. All of the state bus drivers get the free health insurance deal....but get almost minimum wage for their hours...although there are complaints because of the healthcare situation. Same deal for the clerks at the county tag office...who bring home $20k a year on average.
As a kid growing up in Bama...one of the neighbors was a county school carpenter....the school system kept their private crew of plumbers, roofers and carpenters. All of these guys were happy with their free healtcare deal and never complained about the situation...even though they were taking home a pretty low wage.
You make a good point.....which the article didn’t seem to make.....
Have you ever considered that some people don’t want to be obese but due to medical issues, they are overweight and most likely will be for the rest of their lives? I am happy that you are physically able to be in shape. God Bless you that you are healthy and doing well.
Absolutely, were I an employee, I’d be contacting a lawyer. Unless they are going to charge extra for ALL high risk groups, they can’t just pick on one.
Homosexuals first on the list.
Smokers, sky divers, the unmarried, diabetics, alcoholics, anyone who uses drugs, people with high blood pressure. . .
Do it to everybody or to nobody. I am sure I’d win.
EVERYTHING is high risk for purposes of charging extra.
Don’t sleep enough?
Don’t take your vitamins?
wear high heels?
Don’t use sunscreen?
(s)
YOU VILL OBEY!
(/s)
This ASSUMES the weight is a constant.
NORMAL people fluctuate five pounds around a set point. (set point theory)
No. You would not.
There is no constitutional right to insurance. It is an employee benefit, and as such, the employer can determine the fee structure for the benefit.
Not to mention completely predictable. A jackboot for the other guy and his behavior, but certainly not for mine!
I understand that. But alot of people DO NOT CARE.
As the number of disorders continue to increase at an accelerating pace it is but a few years until normal, healthy people will be a thing of the past.
We’ve been riding a tidal wave of diagnosis.
I don’t know if I agree with you, although I have no law education background.
For the state to ARBITRARILY charge one set of people more than another - to deny benefits to one group in an ARBITRARY way - I don’t think it would fly.
I’d present the arbitrariness of the decision to the court.
It is an employee benefit and we have no right to it; I completely agree.
However, this is the government as employer. So I think they can’t legally get away with this.
Myself, I’d decline the insurance and get myself a medical savings account. That’s what I’m pretty much doing right now, anyway.
No chart would say you are morbidly obese at 5’11 185. The BMI chart has you as “slightly” overweight, but as others have said, BMI can be way off.
For example,
I’m 6’4” and 225 and according to BMI charts I’m midway between overweight and obese. My waistline is only 33 inches around though, so I’m definitely not overweight.
i have a 33 inch waist also. if i lost anymore weight they would need to put me in science class as a skeleton. LOL
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.