Health Insurance

[scottw]

right, if we could just closely regulate personal decisions with regard to eating, drinking and smoking, other risky activities and sex...we could eliminate a huge % of medical expenses and probably make Obamacare affordable..........

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by scottw

right, if we could just closely regulate personal decisions with regard to eating, drinking and smoking, other risky activities and sex...we could eliminate a huge % of medical expenses and probably make Obamacare affordable..........

Makes sense. Looks like Orwell was off about 30 years in his future view.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by scottw

right, if we could just closely regulate personal decisions with regard to eating, drinking and smoking, other risky activities and sex...we could eliminate a huge % of medical expenses and probably make Obamacare affordable..........

Or... hold people accountable for their decisions and make them pay more because of them.

[detbuch]

Originally Posted by JohnnyD

Or... hold people accountable for their decisions and make them pay more because of them.

Or . . . let people freely choose and pay for the results themselves, instead of Big Brother forcing us all to spread the misery.

[Sea Dangles]

It really comes down to decisions and common sense. I don't blame a fat guy for saying it is their right to be fat. I also don't mind somebody killing themselves with cigarretes as long as I don't have to breathe their smoke. But they should also assume all expenses associated with their decisions. I don't think it should cost my family more to carry their self destructive fat ass. Trust me,when the top CEO's conference about issues like this they are steaming mad that their healthy employees are forced to share these costs despite making good decisions. But of course it ultimately affects their bottom line and that will be fixed eventually.

[RIJIMMY]

Originally Posted by Sea Dangles

. I don't think it should cost my family more to carry their self destructive fat ass..

I agree and you should be able to opt out or in to insurance as it benefits you.
Look - ideally the market should do the following -
Fitco Insurance - we offer low premiums for people who have low BMI, dont drink or smoke and exercise
Fatco Insurance - we offer high premiums and you can do whatever the hell you want in life and its covered.
Both companies can manage their own finances and coverage

I think Dangles and Johnny would be happy with that and I have no complaints. BUT - I get irked when we involve the government. Our governemtn should not get involved in personal choicies - religion, sexual preference, abortion, eating healthy, exercising, etc. None of your f-ing business what I do and choose to do.

[JohnnyD]

Originally Posted by RIJIMMY

I think Dangles and Johnny would be happy with that and I have no complaints. BUT - I get irked when we involve the government. Our governemtn should not get involved in personal choicies - religion, sexual preference, abortion, eating healthy, exercising, etc. None of your f-ing business what I do and choose to do.

I absolutely would be happy with that. When I first got my driver's license, I paid more for my insurance than my girlfriend did. Why? Because statistics show that young males are higher risk to insurers, not because of more frequent accidents over females but because when accidents do happen, there tends to be significantly more damage (and cost).

Why shouldn't the same risk-management be taken into consideration for people that live unhealthy lifestyles? I don't care if you smoke, drink, do drugs or eat yourself into a coma. What I do care about is when those actions affect myself and other responsible people.

I smoke the occasional cigar and usually have a few glasses of wine at the end of the day. If my insurance was going to cost more because of it, I'd make a cost-benefit decision to either continue and pay a higher premium or limit my intake to pay less. No different than the cost-benefit decision that should be made when buying a Mustang GT with the significantly higher insurance premiums that come with it.

The root of a lot of these problems is the system of employer-supplied insurance. Damn that Truman and his wage controls...