Pay More If You Weigh More?
Should you pay more for health insurance if you weigh more? This is a hot-button question everywhere. Can you be denied insurance if you're too heavy? Check out the Today Show segment below on a family whose child was denied because of overweight.
While the pros and cons can be defended for each side of this debate, to move ahead as a nation, I think we need to begin to link the mind-body connection to weight control. Obesity has multiple causes, including genetic, metabolic, psychological and environmental.
If we look at this in a black and white way - as either a biological disease (no personal accountabilty) or just a mental battle (all personal accountability) - there's no solution. When we connect the biological and behavioral aspects of weight management - and provide better strategies to combine treatments in both areas - we can start to make a dent in the complex task of long term weight control.
What do you think?
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I would be inclined to think...yes, yes an overweight person should pay more for their health insurance. Isn't that what is done with smokers?
HOWEVER, being a person who has health issues and who takes medications with side effects that CAUSE weight gain - despite any and all attempts to lose weight through diet, ect. my answer would be NO.
My doctor and specialists have prescribed them to me, I follow the prescriptions to the tee, and then am left with side effects that outweigh (no pun intended) the benefits of the medication. Two routine medication for my chronic pain flare ups include steroids.
A person should NOT have to pay more when they've been following the doctors orders.
If you are overweight, you should pay more for health insurance the same way smokers do. Like smoking, being overweight is a personal choice that leads to health issues. If the excuse for being overweight is a pre-existing medical conditions, such as "bad genes", then a higher insurance premium is also justified, the same way that a person owning a home in a hurricane prone area pays more for homeowner's insurance. Life's not fair, is it?