Georgia state employees who smoke to pay $40 more per month for insurance

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: PanzerIV

Originally posted by: jtusa4

Originally posted by: Nitemare
How bout charge fat people extra too?

Haha, I think they should, but then again I'm an asshole.

Hey, if they increase health care costs and it's not a genetic condition I agree.

Nothing wrong with this.

 

[Nitemare]

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: woowoo

Originally posted by: Nitemare
How bout charge fat people extra too?

Mark my words.......

That will be next.

Who is to say which is worse?
Smoking or being more than 30lbs. overweight.

I'd laugh they if they use that BMI rating to determine who is overweight.

I'd feel really sorry for muscular people. Doesn't muscle weigh 4 times as much as fat?

 

[Damn Dirty Ape]

That's great. Smokers on a whole get sick more often and take longer to recover. Known fact.

 

[PingSpike]

The thing that strikes me about this article is just how ignorant of how the healthcare system works that the people complaining are.

Williams said many state employees didn't realize the insurance system was self-insured, meaning premiums must go up to meet rising health costs and claims.

Is that because they're retarded? Did you think that when presented with additional costs, the company was just going to use a magic money tree to cover them?

"That's a lot of money for many state employees," she said. "Our hands are tied. We have to have health insurance. What are we to do?"

Well you could stop smoking I suppose.

"But the one thing that really ticks me is the smoking penalty," said Head, a non-smoker who works at Georgia Regional Hospital in Atlanta. His wife smokes and probably would have used the threat of having to pay more for health insurance as an incentive to quit, he said.

"But ? even should she quit today, we still must pay the penalty of $40 per month for the next year ? in effect, penalizing us for a past action that had always been previously tolerated," he said.

Tough sh|t? We all know she wasn't going to quit either way though, its not like "news flash: smoking is bad for you!"

"Basically, it's become a situation where the employer will provide the health insurance, but nobody can afford it," said Ralph Williams, president of the Service Employees International Union Local 198.

Wow, I haven't heard of that happening anywhere else before. You'd think these people had never watched the news before, everyones health insurance costs are going up.

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: Nitemare

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: woowoo

Originally posted by: Nitemare
How bout charge fat people extra too?

Mark my words.......

That will be next.

Who is to say which is worse?
Smoking or being more than 30lbs. overweight.

I'd laugh they if they use that BMI rating to determine who is overweight.

I'd feel really sorry for muscular people. Doesn't muscle weigh 4 times as much as fat?

Yes, a lot of very muscular people that have a six pack would likely be counted as obese on those charts.

We won't be doing that though. 60% of people are obese? They aren't a minority so people would actually listen to their b|tching!

 

[Queasy]

Originally posted by: PingSpike

"Basically, it's become a situation where the employer will provide the health insurance, but nobody can afford it," said Ralph Williams, president of the Service Employees International Union Local 198.

Wow, I haven't heard of that happening anywhere else before. You'd think these people had never watched the news before, everyones health insurance costs are going up.

It is worth noting that Georgia State employees pay less than $100/month for health insurance. Prior to moving to my wife's health insurance, I was paying more than double that.

 

[oogabooga]

Used a tobacco product in the last 12 months?

So the guy who has had one cigar or cigarette in the last twelve months is -just as much- a health risk as the chain smoker down the hall?

that's my problem with this, i'm sure it's more clearly defined, but i wouldn't consider someone who smokes every twelve months to be a regular tobacco user..

 

[bozack]

soon they will be raising costs for people who have backdoor sex or eat too much greasy pizza, drink more than two beers a day....etc.

Wonder how you guys react when it is something you do/enjoy...

 

[Amused]

Originally posted by: dmcowen674
Slippery slope not just Georgia but whole Country is falling down and most likely will not be able to get back up.

I am no fan of smoking but an even less fan of a Nanny State (Country).

Anyone notice there is no end to the continued eating away of "personal" liberties???

Achtung Baby

Good GAWD you just cannot grasp the simplest concepts, can you???

The common argument for the banning and restricting of freedoms is the "it costs society more" argument. The BEST way to over come this is to make individuals financially responsible for their actions rather than the public at large.

How is that done? By allowing insurance companies to charge higher risk people more than lower risk people.

This is the CURE for nanny-statism, not a symptom of it.

Paying for your risks IS freedom. Making other people pay for it, and then having them ban it altogether is nannystatism.

 

Originally posted by: bozack
soon they will be raising costs for people who have backdoor sex or eat too much greasy pizza, drink more than two beers a day....etc.

Wonder how you guys react when it is something you do/enjoy...

shhh, don't challenge people to think critically. Wtf is your problem??!?!?!!?

 

[Vette73]

Originally posted by: bozack
soon they will be raising costs for people who have backdoor sex or eat too much greasy pizza, drink more than two beers a day....etc.

Wonder how you guys react when it is something you do/enjoy...

Smoking is a leading cause of death and health cost. Want to smoke, then pay your FAIR share.

Why should I and other healty people pay for smokers? In fact I don;t even have health insurance and will not unless it is free. I am not going to pay so soemone can CHOOSE to smoke or get fat over eating. And most private health insurance and/or life insurance bases their rates on 2 major things, weight and smoking. So this is not new.

 

[StageLeft]

haha smokers stupid

 

[PingSpike]

Originally posted by: bozack
soon they will be raising costs for people who have backdoor sex or eat too much greasy pizza, drink more than two beers a day....etc.

Wonder how you guys react when it is something you do/enjoy...

Probably the same way the smokers reacted...largely ignoring the overall problem until it directly affected them. Then they b|tched like crazy. But they are a minority now, so no one cares.

There's two very compelling sides to this arguement. The first one is that what should it matter what you do? You paid for your health insurance you deserve coverage. You shouldn't be charged differently. And you're right. In a thing like healthcare, there really shouldn't be judgement on people. This opens that ugly door right up, allowing them to pick and choose healthier people that would cost them less to cover. Whats next? Appropriately overpriced healthcare for people who's parents had a history of heart disease...for people who work stressful jobs?

However, that means that everyone has to pay one flat rate. Which means the guy that smokes 2 packs a day, drinks a six pack every night and lives off a diet of potato chips and pizza is driving everyone else's insurance rates up. Healthcare in this country is a business afterall, those insurance companies are out there to make money first and provide coverage second. And we all know, most Americans are not that health minded.

Everyone liked that system fine, back when health insurance was reasonably cheap and most employers offered it for free or next to nothing. But the costs have gone up considerably, employers are covering less or not offering any coverage whatsoever and a lot of people are hurting under it. Now the idea of shifting the cost onto higher risk people, who are in the minority, like smokers becomes much more appealing.

The more I think about this problem, the more I realize why it hasn't been solved yet. There isn't really an easy solution, or even a difficult one.

 

[jjones]

So, how much more are fat people paying?

 

[rudder]

Originally posted by: Amplifier

Originally posted by: Queasy

Originally posted by: SampSon
Who would ever be dumb enough to tell your insurance carrier that you smoke.

I consider this a stupidity tax.

If you tell them you don't smoke and they find out you do, you'll get fined.

How would they find out? Not making a statement I'm curious.

Lung tar?