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02/05/2008 07:16:54 AM · #1 |
Fatties, and smokers easier on healthcare.
Who would have thunk it. So this idea of requiring people to have health insurance might be all wrong. :) Especially for fat people and smokers. Seems we die early and our lifetime load on the system is less! Well, I don't smoke, but I constantly have to fight fat. :(
So maybe we should offer cheaper insurance for fatties!!!! And smokers!!!!
All you vegans and exercisers should probably have to pay a lot more.
LOL
Edit:
Yeah Doc, I know this isn't a peer review article. LOL
Edit:
Geez, I was wrong. What da ya know. It WAS peer reviewed!
PLOS
Message edited by author 2008-02-05 07:50:31. |
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02/05/2008 08:17:02 AM · #2 |
Short term, money..."fatties and smokers" more expensive. "The rest" more expensive in the long term, vut they pay MORE insurance over a long period of time.
For me...40 years old...been paying $200 a month in insurance for 20+ years and have NEVER used it.....hmmmm.
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02/05/2008 08:29:07 AM · #3 |
Originally posted by dacrazyrn:
For me...40 years old...been paying $200 a month in insurance for 20+ years and have NEVER used it.....hmmmm. |
But it would take very few days in hospital to recoup that and, unfortunately, that's likely to happen at some point. |
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02/05/2008 09:52:33 AM · #4 |
Originally posted by dacrazyrn:
Short term, money..."fatties and smokers" more expensive. "The rest" more expensive in the long term, vut they pay MORE insurance over a long period of time.
For me...40 years old...been paying $200 a month in insurance for 20+ years and have NEVER used it.....hmmmm. |
Over those 20 years, you've paid in $48000. Had you instead invested that $200/mo and earned an average of 8%, you would have $116,820. That seems like a lot, but, that's really not all that much when it comes to health care costs in the US. One or two serious incidents would suck up that much money and leave you high and dry.
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02/05/2008 10:36:05 AM · #5 |
if a lot of folks did that i would guess that the insurance premiums would be substantially higher for those that didn't - seeing as the INS companies invest your premium payments themselves.
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
Over those 20 years, you've paid in $48000. Had you instead invested that $200/mo and earned an average of 8%, you would have $116,820. That seems like a lot, but, that's really not all that much when it comes to health care costs in the US. One or two serious incidents would suck up that much money and leave you high and dry. |
Message edited by author 2008-02-05 10:36:14.
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02/05/2008 11:31:13 AM · #6 |
An interesting article. I'm curious as to why they used models instead of actual data. I would think that would be available, but maybe not.
One thing the study didn't mention and would be interesting in a country like The Netherlands where medicine, I assume, is socialized, is the productivity comparison between healthy people, obese people, and smokers. It may be the "millions of dollars in savings" actually come on the revenue side. Are healthy people able to work harder and longer, earn more, and thus pay more in tax to support the system?
Message edited by author 2008-02-05 11:32:00.
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02/05/2008 01:21:11 PM · #7 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Are healthy people able to work harder and longer, earn more, and thus pay more in tax to support the system? |
I hope so. Paying taxes is pretty damn low on my list
of priorities. So if you healthy people would pay them I'd be very appreciative. LOL |
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02/05/2008 01:38:58 PM · #8 |
Originally posted by soup:
if a lot of folks did that i would guess that the insurance premiums would be substantially higher for those that didn't - seeing as the INS companies invest your premium payments themselves. |
Invest? You ever see the corporate headquarters of most insurance companies?
That hardly meets my definition of investment.
The words bloated and ostentatious come to mind.
I see these bazillion square foot, ten story edifices completely lit up and empty at night and I just get ill when I hear about them crying poor and wanting rate increases.
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02/05/2008 01:40:22 PM · #9 |
does it matter? our system of health care doesn't really use our tax dollars for the good of the masses. it seems most of it goes to the military and HLS...
the proposed budget for 2009 actually cuts medicaid/care by something like $200B. and MC only helps the retired. that's substantially more than the last cut in MC funding... seems you've got your logic backwards. oh and the $3.1T budget doesn't include wartime spending. so you can add about $1T to the budget figure.
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Are healthy people able to work harder and longer, earn more, and thus pay more in tax to support the system?
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02/05/2008 01:46:25 PM · #10 |
Originally posted by soup:
does it matter? our system of health care doesn't really use our tax dollars for the good of the masses. it seems most of it goes to the military and HLS... |
I pointed out it matters for the country it was studied in.
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02/05/2008 11:05:23 PM · #11 |
Originally posted by Spazmo99:
Originally posted by dacrazyrn:
Short term, money..."fatties and smokers" more expensive. "The rest" more expensive in the long term, vut they pay MORE insurance over a long period of time.
For me...40 years old...been paying $200 a month in insurance for 20+ years and have NEVER used it.....hmmmm. |
Over those 20 years, you've paid in $48000. Had you instead invested that $200/mo and earned an average of 8%, you would have $116,820. That seems like a lot, but, that's really not all that much when it comes to health care costs in the US. One or two serious incidents would suck up that much money and leave you high and dry. |
Ever looked at the statement your insurance company sends after you go to the doctor? The doctors charge about five times what the insurance company calls "reasonable and customary". And the doctors will settle for that lower amount because the insurance companies have negotiated it with them.
If you are not insured, do the doctors charge the same amount, that is, 5 times the reasonable and customary amount? If they do, that $116,820 goes fast. |
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02/05/2008 11:41:58 PM · #12 |
Hank points out part of the craziness of medical billing in the US.
The reality is doctors do not know how much an insurance company will pay for a procedure or a visit. Well, actually, it is theoretically possible to learn that amount, but insurance companies make it purposely very difficult to find it out out. On top, every insurance company pays a different amount. Doctors will overbill so as to make sure to recoup 100% of what an insurance company is willing to pay. It makes very little business sense to bill Blue Cross $55 for a procedure when they would have actually paid you $65.
Caught in the middle are people without insurance. Not only will they get stuck with the overbill amount (don't worry it isn't 5x the insurance payment...), but many insurance contracts make it illegal for the doctor to charge those without insurance a different fee. (There can be sneaky ways around this though and docs use it to try to give the uninsured a break.)
Dealing with the insurance nightmare likely consumes 5-15% of our revenue. If I could go back to a fee-for-service way of life, I would do it in a second. There are actually allergists who set up immunotherapy for pets (yes, cats and dogs can be allergic. Ironically, dogs can be allergic to humans.) and today I was seriously tempted to look into it because nobody carries insurance for their pet. |
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02/05/2008 11:44:46 PM · #13 |
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Ironically, dogs can be allergic to humans.) and today I was seriously tempted to look into it because nobody carries insurance for their pet. |
Dont count on that Doc. Everytime I take my dogs to the vet, there are several pamphlets on pet health insurance. |
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02/05/2008 11:50:42 PM · #14 |
Originally posted by JaimeVinas:
Originally posted by DrAchoo:
Ironically, dogs can be allergic to humans.) and today I was seriously tempted to look into it because nobody carries insurance for their pet. |
Dont count on that Doc. Everytime I take my dogs to the vet, there are several pamphlets on pet health insurance. |
Ya, it's inevitable because vets will now say, "hey, your dog needs an MRI for $2000." I'm not joking. My brother actually spent that much on an MRI on his dog. Yikes! |
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