Saturday, October 17, 2009

No Free Lunch (So to Speak)

The health care bill requires compliance with healthy living guidelines and penalizes bad eating habits:

According to a Washington Post article that Drudge links to:

President Obama and members of Congress have declared that they are trying to create a system in which no one can be denied coverage or charged higher premiums based on their health status. The health insurance lobby has said it shares that goal. However, so-called wellness incentives could introduce a colossal loophole. In effect, they would permit insurers and employers to make coverage less affordable for people exhibiting risk factors for problems like diabetes, heart disease and stroke.

The article states that the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, and the American Diabetes Association are against this approach. My guess is that they are against this approach because a large part of their support base comes from people who make money off the Typical American Diet. (How cynical of me. Sorry.) And what would these organizations do if the diseases they supposedly address were reduced 30% or more. (Oh, I'm just awful!)

If my taxes and insurance premiums have to pay for someone else's heathcare, then I'm fine with putting pressure on these other people to adopt a healthy diet. In terms of liberty, on the other hand, both sides lose: I am required to pay for that person's health care and that other person may not do harm to himself without paying a penalty.

2 comments:

Macon said...

If we're truly weighing this healthcare reform against "terms of liberty" then put my vote down for "liberty".

And for tar and feathers for the DC Kleptocrats.

Paul Stokes said...

I totally agree. Liberty would also allow me room to organize voluntarily with others to address the needs of my neighbor, and it would be part of our Christian duty to do so. Or did the Good Samaritan use his cell phone to call a government social worker (who had a crushing csse load) to deal with the wounded man? I don't remember.