Two outrageous stories... first off, we're feeding junk food to our junk food. Second, after people eat the junk food and get fat, the state of Alabama wants them to pay exta on their health insurance.
Yes, that's right. With corn and soy prices hitting record highs this past July, it's "no longer uncommon" for factory farms to feed cows reject M&Ms and potato chips along with their corn. Think about that the next time you crave a Big Mac. Or even a steak. (My mom's quote on this was the best... "if I am going to eat M&Ms, I am going to eat them directly, NOT VICARIOUSLY through a cow, because I LIKE M&Ms.")
In related news, Alabama has a new challenge to workers: Shape up or pay up. State employees have a year to lose weight and those who have a BMI above 35 after that time will pay more for health care. I care deeply about obesity BUT I think this is absurd - and unfair.
I can't believe a day has come that I am on the same side of ANY issue as the sleazy, slimy, no good Center for Consumer Freedom. But it has happened. Of course, we oppose this policy for different reasons.
And then there's the argument that "how much I weigh is not the government's business." So says Justin Wilson with the Center for Consumer Freedom. He questions who might be targeted next? Motorcyclists? Fast food lovers?
Any "news" network that wishes to maintain any credibility at all has no business quoting CCF, first of all. I realize it's fun to insert controversy in your stories, but I have a hunch that they could have gotten a much less corporate-sponsored, more honest opinion from, say, Community Food Security Coalition.
Why do I oppose this? First, there are the reasons stated in the article itself - the poor are more likely to be overweight than the rich, and some people have thyroid problems and can't help it. So this policy is not fair. But I also oppose it because health insurance is not the same as car insurance.
There are 2 ways to go about insuring people. One is to rate everyone by risk and make the riskier people pay more. When you're talking about driving, I think it's fair. I hit 3 vehicles in the last year. Oops. My premiums are high as a result. My dad, on the other hand, drives like grandma. He pays less.
The other way - which is appropriate for health insurance - is to charge everyone the same regardless of risk and then pay for those who need it. It's the only fair thing to do. No one knows if and when they will be stricken with cancer or hit by a bus. And it's beyond dumb to take the sickest among us and group them in a category like the bad drivers that pays high premiums, because the reason people get insurance is not so that someone can kick them when they are down.
Personally, I fear for when I'm between the ages of 50 and 65, hopefully old enough to retire but too young for Medicare. That's when my premiums will be highest. And it's no surprise that I'm going to age. Everyone ages. And health care costs increase with age. So let's distribute the costs among everyone over their whole lifetimes so we don't stick a small group with all the costs. Besides, I've read that the obese cost about the same in health care costs over a life time as the non-obese. The reason (sad to say) is that they die earlier. Skinny people keep living and racking up the health care costs.