Gatorubet;1252817; said:
If the weight charts are poorly constructed, then the market will presumably correct that, as some company will emerge that has better charts that recognize that healthy 6'1'' individuals can weigh more than 140 pounds. That company will steal the business away from the ones with the unrealistic standards.
but this is the problem im seeing. while im far from being an expert on insurance, its my understanding that most people's insurance is through their employer. not something they went out on their own and purchased. so assuming that is true. if this additional $25 charge is levied against the employee only and not the company i don't see why you would think there would be any incentive for the persons who actually carry out the negotiations to care about what scale is being used. you have to remember, your company isn't looking for the best insurance at the lowest price for you. they are looking for the best deal for the company. so i don't understand where the correction will take place. outside of molgen's suggestion that a law suit could come into play.
here are some of my concerns:
1. the bmi is worthless as a proper measuring tool for health.
2. the employee shouldn't be punished alone. but why not? its the fatasses fault their a fatass. if they worked out more or ate less or both they wouldn't have this problem. well... thats mostly true. however, there are a significant number of persons who are asked to work schedules and situations that make it very difficult to eat right or exercise on a consistent schedule. if companies are making the choices, they need to share in the consequences.
3. the next logical step? the next logical step to this is for insurance companies to start telling you what you can and can't eat. you will eat what we tell you to or we will increase your insurance premiums and or lower your benefits and or drop your benefits (but we're still going to charge you). after all, just being of a certain weight doesn't mean your healthy. so we have to charge the people who have unhealthy habits more money right?
with insurance companies having such stellar track records with things such as prescription medications covered and elective surgeries that are allowable. i can only imagine the clusterfuck that would ensue if given the opportunity to dictate what a healthy diet would be. if people disliked the haliburton crap in iraq, they'll absolutely love what the insurance companies will institute if given the chance. the worst part of that concept? wtf is actually healthy? ok, everything that doesn't have 5 gabillion miligrams of sodium per serving. but honestly, half the crap that has been deemed "unhealthy" today was considered healthy 20 years ago. the dairy industry bribed its way into becoming a food group. why on earth should we trust any of these people? further, why should we allow their junk science to cost us more money for something we will likely get 0 gain from?
