The Unhealthy Choice [Walmart should hire sick people]

Fairfield County Weekly (CT) ^ | November 3, 2005 | by Alistair Highet

[TaxRelief]

...A leaked memo last week from Walmart's executive vice president for benefits, Susan Chambers, suggested that the next move in cost-cutting at the nation's largest private employer would be to "dissuade unhealthy people from coming to work at Walmart."

...You should think about this, because if you believe your company isn't harboring similar thoughts, you are living in a dream world. As a spokesperson for Walmart said after the memo was leaked, "Every business in America... [is] having conversations in their boardrooms just like ours."

[Trust but Verify]

This is the way people think where I work. We pay nothing towards our premium, and very modest co-pays for office visits or hospital admissions. We pay nothing for diagnostic tests as long as you see a network doctor or use a network facility. The women I work with are always having MRI's and other expensive and unnecessary things done just because 'it doesn't cost anything'!

When my husband refused the suggestion of our physician to undergo a battery of tests to see if his neuropathy is indeed due to diabetes (it is) or if he is showing early signs of MS (he's not)the people in the office were apoplectic. They wanted to know why he wouldn't get it checked out since, 'it's all covered, it won't cost anything'. He told them if everyone had that attitude it won't be long until we were all without health insurance, and that he is not going to spend the company's money without good reason to.

[Trust but Verify]

Uncalled for.

[TaxRelief]

Here's the letter I wrote to Alistair:

Dear Alistair,

Thank you so much for your column about sick
employees. It's refreshing to hear an someone
recognizing that private business is a lousy, inhumane
way to run a country.

Everyone should have a place to go to during working
hours--even if they are quadriplegics! It gives them
a sense of dignity and stops them from spending the
entire day in front of the television.

If business firms will not give the sickly a chance,
we should find a way to stop private business all
together. I really don't see why Mr.
Bush can't just fix things up a bit, and organize
labor to just provide for our basic needs. Can you?

Yours ever so truly,

[TaxRelief]

Read the entire article and it is nothing but propaganda for Socialized medicine...fired off a wee bit of a letter to the doofus.

And he snuck in a left swing at Walmart, et al.

[TaxRelief]

Almost without fail, eating right and daily aerobic exercise will bring B/P down without medication.

[TaxRelief]

Could you please substantiate some of your claims with statistics or evidence of some kind? Thanks.

[sandbar]

>>>You seriously doubt that a high-risk group like homosexuals could have a comparable health care cost to the non-high-risk population? >>>

Define "non-high-risk-population". No more risk than white trash or inner city ghetto trash.

[sandbar]

>>>When you add the inhibitors and new drugs, the costs go through the roof, but are not included, so they can hide them in other appropriations for "programs".>>>

Of course. Because every gay person has AIDS. I forgot. How silly of me not to include that in my calculations.

[Major Matt Mason]

My wife is in Wal-Mart management and I am a Wal-Mart supporter but I can't help but notice over the years at all the W/M stores I have been around that there seems to be an awfully lot of homosexuals there and my wife has assured me that my observation is correct.

I work part time at a Wal-Mart, and I can tell you that this observation is absolutely true. The store I'm in is crawling with them- not that there's anything wrong with that [/obligatory Seinfeld reference]. I would also note that there are several elderly people working at the store, as well a few handicapped people, so this store apparently hasn't received the memo yet.

[Graybeard58]

After I retired in '99 I worked in security at Wal-Mart for about 6 months until I decided that I just didn't want to punch a clock anymore.

I was standing near a young checker one night and she called me over to her register. She pointed out to me two men, about my age (I was 54 at the time) standing in her line and they were kissing. She wanted me to make them stop because it was disgusting. I told her that as far as I knew they aren't breaking any laws and there's nothing I can do about it.

That was her last night at work at Wal-Mart.

Nothing to do with this story but the funniest thing I experienced on that job was the night I caught three 13 year old girls shop lifting Early Home Pregnancy testing kits. They begged me not to call their parents, so of course that's exactly what I did. They had some 'splanin to do!

[A-10]

http://www.familyresearchinst.org/FRR_04_03.html

http://www.corporateresourcecouncil.org/white_papers/Hidden_Costs.pdf

http://www.cultureandfamily.org/articledisplay.asp?id=3521&department=CFI&categoryid=cfreport

http://www.wpaag.org/Homosexuals%20and%20Same%20Sex%20Marriage.htm

http://www.frc.org/get.cfm?i=IS01B1

http://www.catholiceducation.org/articles/homosexuality/ho0075.html

http://www.gayhealth.com/iowa-robot/common/feature.html?record=573

This one at your own risk:http://www.newswithviews.com/NWVexclusive/exclusive16.htm

http://www.smokingaloud.com/
http://www.gayhealth.com/templates/109286545436255009937/news?record=947

http://www.ncsl.org/programs/health/hivcosts.htm

http://www.narth.com/docs/risks.html

http://www.health.state.ny.us/nysdoh/hivaids/4-aids94.pdf

http://www.aidschicago.org/pdf/prevention_value.pdf

[A-10]

Define "non-high-risk-population". No more risk than white trash or inner city ghetto trash.

How incredibly insensitive for you to describe any human being as trash.

I don't need to define high risk, it's done by the CDCc. Homosexuals engage in high risk behavior by definition.

[TaxRelief]

Those links are very, very helpful. Thank you.

[A-10]

The CDC has tons as well, I do not plan to post anything further links, though.

[pageonetoo]

Of course. Because every gay person has AIDS.

Nice try. In the article linked, it says that 2%of CA's Medicaid payments are made for AIDS patients. The number of child and female AIDS patients is extremely small.

IMO, let homosexuals die, from the results of their perverted behavior. If they don't have enough sense to use things the way God intended, and can't even bother with simple protections, like condoms, then God can surely sort it out!

I'm sorry, but I don't feel sorry for butt buddies self-imposed afflictions, and like my Father, I see their behavior as condemnatory...

You're silly sounding, for sure

[ConservativeMind]

We are responsible for keeping ourselves as healthy as possible.

It should not be wrong for an employer to seek healthier people by design.

We are a society of pill-takers. Get over it and start taking care of yourselves so you don't have a concern later!

[ConservativeMind]

We need to be taking better care of ourselves so we don't need to worry about visiting the doctor.

In my opinion, HSAs are one of the better motivating factors for people to protect their health. When being fat and sick doesn't motivate people enough to change, perhaps money can help.

[Porterville]

Socialist are idiots. They are losing. Now they have to attack companies because they have such a hard time attacking governments.

[HiTech RedNeck]

The sounds like they want people to use their sick leave rather than come in and spread their germs.