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RFK Jr.: If You Eat Doughnuts or Smoke, Should Society Pay for Your Health Care?
MSN/Washington Post ^ | 4/11 | Lauren Weber

Posted on 04/11/2025 9:48:37 AM PDT by nickcarraway

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. asked whether society should pay for the health care of Americans who eat doughnuts or smoke when they know those habits can contribute to poor health outcomes. “If you’re smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, should you expect society to pay when you get sick?” the nation’s top health official asked in an interview released Wednesday with CBS News chief medical correspondent, physician Jon LaPook.

Kennedy went on to say that it is an American’s choice to “eat doughnuts all day” or drink sodas, and he promised not to take those choices away. “But in terms of, should you then expect society to care for you when you predictably get very sick at the same level as somebody who was born with a congenital illness?” he asked. “The best answer to that is to realign our incentives so that the economic incentives, the individuals and the industry align with the public health outcomes that we desire.”

Public health experts were alarmed by Kennedy’s remarks, saying they suggest that Kennedy may limit access to health care based on personal behavior. They also come as potential cuts to insurance for low-income Americans, Medicaid, loom amid a push for deep budget reductions in Congress.

(Excerpt) Read more at msn.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Culture/Society; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: donuts; donutssmoking; rfkjr; smoking; universalhealthcare
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To: Arcadian Empire
Do you support any assistance to any foreign country? Are they more worth helping than your fellow Americans?

I don't support taxpayer assistance to anyone, inside or outside our country. As soon as the govt gets involved it gets messed up.

Back to my original post (the U.S. shouldn't pay for anyone's health care). IMHO healthcare costs have risen a lot since the govt started "helping" us with healthcare. And the more the govt "helps" us the faster healthcare costs rise. Just like everything else the govt "helps" us with.


21 posted on 04/11/2025 10:01:52 AM PDT by Tell It Right (1 Thessalonians 5:21 -- Put everything to the test, hold fast to that which is true.)
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To: Arcadian Empire

Do you support any assistance to any foreign country?
********
No.


22 posted on 04/11/2025 10:02:30 AM PDT by yldstrk (Nothing like the truth)
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To: nickcarraway

There are some emloyers who have built there health benefit employees contribution rates on an imputed higher rate generally and then a discount for non-smokers - effectively making a higher rate for smokers.

As an ex-smoker, and with the health improvenent I likely have for quitting, I favor larger health benefit contributions for smokers. I also do NOT favor health benefits for addiction/rehab services for drug addiction or alcohol rehab. To me all addictions, whether reinforced by the chemical once the addiciton has begun or not, begin with choices, and rightly people need to consider the costs, all costs, for those choices.

To me, telling employees their health benefits include coverages for alcohol rehab and treatments for drug addiction, sound compassionate but send the wrong message about who should be responsible for something that is bad but begins with a choice, a choice anyone can choose to avoid.


23 posted on 04/11/2025 10:02:53 AM PDT by Wuli
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To: nickcarraway

“Society”

My insurance premiums and bills I have to pay are not addressed to “society”

“Society” has paid jack shiite of any of my premiums or medical bills.

Now if hes talking about people getting free everything paid for by my premiums and my taxes, I think its a different story. Do you know how many strings govt puts on funding to enusre they are used in a certain desired way? Why would or should conditions for these funds be any different?


24 posted on 04/11/2025 10:03:19 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: nickcarraway

WTF is this, is RFKjr gonna push for universal healthcare?????????

That is NOT what we voted for.


25 posted on 04/11/2025 10:03:40 AM PDT by ProgressingAmerica (We cannot vote our way out of these problems. The only way out is to activist our way out.)
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To: nickcarraway

What should be taken away from druggie womanizers?


26 posted on 04/11/2025 10:04:17 AM PDT by 9YearLurker
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To: nickcarraway

Not sure. If they get cancer, I would say those savings are negated because then they have lots of cancer trratment bills and larger end of life costs.


27 posted on 04/11/2025 10:04:27 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: nickcarraway

I get his point, but I also pick up on a “nanny state” mentality at work here.


28 posted on 04/11/2025 10:04:56 AM PDT by glennaro (2025: The year of America's rebirth as a Great (and Free) Republic)
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To: nickcarraway

if you climb mountains or do base jumping should we not cover your health care too?

we can go through a lot of activities that affect health care costs, a big one would be childbirth, but do we really want to go there?


29 posted on 04/11/2025 10:05:01 AM PDT by ChronicMA
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To: nickcarraway

I have eaten 1 doughnut this year, my work decided to buy a few boxes for some reason.

now I want another one, and I doubt that it will cause me any healthcare costs


30 posted on 04/11/2025 10:05:26 AM PDT by algore
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To: nickcarraway

There’s no such thing as “society”. We’re all human beings. It’s not one human being’s responsibility to pay for another human being’s irresponsible behavior unless it’s out of the kindness of his or her own heart and out of his or her own pocket.


31 posted on 04/11/2025 10:05:49 AM PDT by Texas Eagle ("Throw me to the wolves and I'll return leading the pack"- Donald J. Trump)
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To: nickcarraway

So all cops are off healthcare?


32 posted on 04/11/2025 10:06:06 AM PDT by nwrep
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To: nickcarraway

RFJ said he wants to legalize acid, BTW.


33 posted on 04/11/2025 10:06:55 AM PDT by CodeToad
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To: nickcarraway

These people worried about curbing personal habits to get hcare bills paid for are the very same ones that denied hcare to non covid vaxxed people. Hospitals today are still denying hcare to non vaxxed people, RFKs young family friend/relative was denied a transplant because she wasn’t mrna’d.


34 posted on 04/11/2025 10:06:56 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: nickcarraway
If you drive a race car, should we pay??

If you mountain climb...should we pay.

Sorry....just too many variables...

35 posted on 04/11/2025 10:07:09 AM PDT by Sacajaweau
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To: ChronicMA

Absolutely mountain climbing and base jumping should not only disqualify one from medical care of injuries but they should reimburse rescue costs dollar for dollar and be civilly responsible for any rescuers’ injuries.


36 posted on 04/11/2025 10:07:40 AM PDT by anton
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To: nickcarraway

ACA is a LIE! Gov’t makes healthcare UNAFFORDABLE.

But don’t stop at ACA. What about the whole unconstitutional $1 trillion HHS bureaucracy??

It’s gotta go.

What will it take for people to realize that the GREATEST THREAT to our lives, liberties, and free pursuits is none other that the $3+ trillion, 80%+ unconstitutional portion of the federal gov’t which size is DIRECTLY proportional to the size of less individual freedom?

LESS GOV’T, MORE FREEDOM AND MORE PROSPERITY!!!!!


37 posted on 04/11/2025 10:08:46 AM PDT by Jim W N (MAGA by restoring the Gospel of the Grace of Christ (Jude 3) and our Free Constitutional Republic!)
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To: nickcarraway

If You [insert condition here], Should Society Pay for Your Health Care?


38 posted on 04/11/2025 10:08:47 AM PDT by McGruff (Biden will go down in history as the worst president ever.)
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To: Texas Eagle

Yup

Nonadult kids may have a moral claim on their parents to pay for them, but no adults have any moral claim on another person to pay for their healthcare. They may have a legal contractual claim, nut not a moral claim (one could argue honoring the contract is a moral claim but its one not specific to just healthcare).


39 posted on 04/11/2025 10:10:08 AM PDT by Secret Agent Man (Gone Galt; not averse to Going Bronson.)
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To: nickcarraway

As a non-doughnut eater, I saw no.


40 posted on 04/11/2025 10:10:26 AM PDT by vivenne (7Come to think of it. )
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