Charging the Unhealthy More For Insurance

Joe The Dragon sends us a BusinessWeek story, run on Yahoo, about Clarian Health and the new thing they are trying with health insurance coverage for their employees. They are charging unhealthy people more. The article goes into some depth about whether this is a good idea and whether the practice might spread. "In late June, the Indianapolis-based hospital system announced that starting in 2009, it will fine employees $10 per paycheck if their body mass index (BMI, a ratio of height to weight that measures body fat) is over 30. If their cholesterol, blood pressure, and glucose levels are too high, they'll be charged $5 for each standard they don't meet. Ditto if they smoke: Starting next year, they'll be charged another $5 in each check."

and if you have a slashdot account

[JeanBaptiste]

thats another 20

Where will this madness end?

[Anonymous Coward]

Charging drivers with more accidents higher rates for auto insurance?

Form of Discrimination?

[deadmantyping]

That sounds like it could be considered a form of discrimination. I doubt that obese people would take this move lightly.

Re:and if you have a slashdot account

[Hijacked Public]

On top of the $5 I already paid?

And my BMI is usually just less than 30. Yet my body fat is around 6%, which is kind of at odds with the summary, but pointing out errors in summaries is kind of boring here.

Luckily I'm self employed and pay exorbitant rates regardless.

Re:What's the problem?

[Joebert]

Agreed, & I have a solution.

We should gather every employee in a room & stand them on a table one-by-one, if the majority of the room thinks that person is a fat bastard, that person gets charged more.

Re:Slow news day?

[lymond01]

What about sexually promiscuous employees, or employees that like skydiving or downhill skiing? What about employees that pop too many aspirin, or employees with physically abusive spouses? What about those employees with genetic predispositions to any number of chronic (read: EXPENSIVE) diseases, who have thus far been lucky enough not to come down with them (so far)?

World wasn't invented in a day, boy. Simmer down. They'll get to it.

Re:and if you have a slashdot account

[BSAtHome]

So my lifestyle means that I have to pay for my employment? I love collecting unhealthy habbits.

Re:What's the problem?

[internetcommie]

So all pointy-haired bosses would pay a higher rate regardless of BMI and bodyfat, while the non-bastard fatsos are let off.
Sounds fair to me!

Re:What's the problem?

[Joebert]

So all pointy-haired bosses would pay a higher rate regardless of BMI and bodyfat, while the non-bastard fatsos are let off. Sounds fair to me!

Bosses are exempt, if you have a problem with that you should have majored in Business instead of Programming.

Re:Form of Discrimination?

[An ominous Cow art]

I hire a lawyer and beat them

Is that legal now?!?!?!

Re:and if you have a slashdot account

[PFI_Optix]

it's just that the BMI is a pretty useless measure of someone's health.

Agreed. My BMI is 57, and I feel just fine thank you very much.

Now help a brotha out...I can't reach the remote and I can't get up off the couch. Could you change it to channel 114 and pass the Doritos?

Re:Charge vegetarians less?

[operagost]

I didn't realize there was so much red meat in cola. Or that fish was a vegetable!

Re:and if you have a slashdot account

[Anonymous Coward]

Heck it's hard enough just finding jeans with less waist than length!

Re:because averages are good.

[Anonymous Coward]

"Sarcasm should be banned. It's just so frustrating in text."

I agree 100%!

Re:Charge vegetarians less?

[Asmor]

or be hit by lighting

God, I HATE those damn low-hung fluorescent tubes they hang all over the jogging paths.

Re:Charge vegetarians less?

[Anonymous Coward]

And, for every chicken you don't eat, I'm going to pay KFC to violently debeak three.

Re:and if you have a slashdot account

[imamac]

We did water displacement in college. Here, strip down and climb into this big tank...

Re:and if you have a slashdot account

[Bill Dog]

There's only one solution: Anti-grav boobs.

Great idea!

[HangingChad]

We should gather every employee in a room & stand them on a table one-by-one...

Yeah! We could hire people the same way. Let different departments bid on them. Make them take their shirts off and show their teeth so you know they're nice and healthy. And, just for their safety and protection, we might want to chain them together, so they don't get scared and fall off the table. And maybe a small but tasteful whip, strictly to make sure things move along and people don't waste all day bidding on new employees. And make them sing worker songs, because people really like that. Swiiiing low, sweet cub-i-cle wor-ker...headed for the break room at niiiiiine. That's my favorite.

Dang, it seems so obvious. Why hasn't anyone thought of that before?

I knew that would come in handy....

[Chmcginn]

You never thought that experience from Obfuscated C contests would be a good thing, did you?

Re:and if you have a slashdot account

[Anonymous Coward]

>And if they do normal things like eat healthy and get exorcise

Cast OUT those DEMONS! Can I get an AMEN?!?

Louder! The LORD can't HEAR you!

Re:and if you have a slashdot account

[CastrTroy]

More people use Windows on their home computers. That doesn't mean it's the most reliable operating system. In this case, they use the BMI, because it is quick and cheap, and get's the job done, and be darned with the reliability of the system. Kind of like with Windows.

Re:and if you have a slashdot account

[DreamingReal]

The demand for medical care is almost infinite. This is not a hypothesis or an ideology, it is an observed fact.

Since the number of those requesting medical care is most definitely finite I'm not sure how you arrive at infinite demand. Because you insist it is an "observed fact", I have decided to stop reading your post. I suspect you may have need for mental medical care.

Re:Where will this madness end?

[rakslice]

Remember, a highly skilled worker is just one head injury away from being an unskilled worker.

Re:Too much work is the problem.

[zegota]

Probably because you weren't at work, you lazy bum!

Re:you're making a joke but

[JazzLad]

But what you don't see is your lack of buoyancy increases your risk of drowning - why should a healthy tub-o like me have to pay for that? ;)

Re:and if you have a slashdot account

[nacturation]

bmi is jacked for many women - and the creator of the scale was pretty up front on that from what i've read.

Women are pretty up front too.
 

Re:depends on definitions

[Anonymous Coward]

I'm not either, but I did stay at a Holiday Inn Express last night.

Re:and if you have a slashdot account

[Don853]

The wikipedia BMI chart has the metric weight in kilograms (ok), and the imperial weight in fucking stones. Bastards making me do mental arithmetic.

Re:and if you have a slashdot account

[Nazlfrag]

Fair enough, but I still feel dirty...