Why am I paying for this guy's healthcare? Why am I paying for his liver transplant? Why am I paying for his Combivent and Advair? His lab work and innumerable chest X-rays, CT scans, cardiac stress tests, EKGs, etc?
Why does he pay the same insurance premiums that I pay? Or less since he qualified for "disability" because he won't get an education and won't do manual labor anymore because his back hurts.
It's time for the responsible members of our society to band together and institute our own insurance company. Yes, we pay taxes so we'll always be paying that guy's bills. But why should we have to pay outrageous insurance premiums on top of it?
My insurance program would be exclusive. No smokers, heavy drinkers, or obese. Blood positive for nicotine? You're out. Arrested for DUI or hospitalized with EtOH level over 400? You're out. Urine toxicology screen positive for opiates, THC, stimulants, etc and you don't have a matching prescription? You're out. Body mass index over 29? You're out. Over the age of 80 and you want an organ transplant? Sorry. Brain dead but the family wants to keep your corpse breathing? You're out. You went to the ER for a rash that's been present for 2 months? You're out. You shoved what up where? You're out. You contracted 3 STDs in the past 6 months? You're out.
I'm not advocating that we stop taking care of the irresponsible. The new administration already has big plans for that. I'm saying that those of us who take care of ourselves ought to get a break on insurance premiums.
The problem, of course, is enforcing the qualification standards. How do we know that they're not smoking or binging and that they're maintaining a healthy body weight? Whenever they receive care worth more than $300, they have to give up a urine sample and have their height and weight reported. If nicotine or other drugs are found in the urine or if their BMI exceeds 30, the insurance company is released from any obligation to pay for their care. Clients would also agree to release their medical records to the insurance company. It sounds a little bit intrusive, but so is everything else in medicine. (Ever heard of a Foley catheter?) And if you're someone we want in our insurance program, what have you got to hide?
People are going to say that this is discrimination. Discrimination against smokers. Discrimination against fat people. That's like saying it's discrimination against criminals to lock them up. When you eat up my healthcare dollars by not taking care of yourself, you are infringing on my rights to liberty from outrageous healthcare costs and the pursuit of happiness!
Will someone who is business savvy please get the ball rolling? Thanks.
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6 comments:
I'm in. Sign me up.
When you apply for good life insurance they take a blood test, height, weight, all that. If they can do it, health insurance should be able to as well. Sign us up.
Yeah, they did that for my life insurance. Why do I have life insurance? I don't know. But yeah, I like that idea. It kind of goes against what our society believes now. Now everyone is all about same stuff for everyone no matter what. You know how it goes.
Amen sista. And while we're on a roll, can we make smoking and drinking while pregnant against the law? And how about coughing without covering your mouth? I've got lots of ideas...
Ummm... brother. Amen Brother.
I couldn't have said it better myself.
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