Obamacare and obesity
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As a Canadian pretty much everything a lot of Americans says about "Obamacare" confuses me to no end.
I will never understand why people will be against affordable health care for everyone. It just baffles me.
I dont think most of us are against affordable health care for everyone. What we are against is it being run by the government (they can't run any program effectively), requiring things that aren't necessary in plans etc.0 -
Traditional insurance "incentivizes" people by how much you pay them, based on age, sex, location, health conditions, past family health conditions, etc. The bad part is, insurance companies could easily just not cover anyone they felt were a risk and couldn't make good money on. Obamacare is supposed to remove some of the equation so everyone has access to coverage. The still crappy part of the mix is, it is essentially group coverage for the US, where rates only favor those who have major issues, and everyone in decent or good health foot most the bill.
Where I work, we get cash back if you do health tests each year for smoking and for general medical (full physical). We get back up to $400 a year.0 -
That would be cool.
It would also be GREAT if women of childbearing age could save $ on insurance premiums by proving their husband had a vasectomy. I suppose there is that percentage of times it fails though, and of course some women cheat...but I still think it would be awesome for me to not have to pay higher rates!
what about single men that have to have maternity coverage on their policies?0 -
The company I work for gives us health care incentives as part of our health insurance package.
If we fall into a healthy range in 2 of 3 categories (BMI, cholesterol, blood pressure) we get $12.50 a paycheck. You can also get the reward by enrolling in a health coaching program if you do not currently meet any of the healthy ranges.
they should reevaluate that, i think. BMI is such crap.
ETA: its a nice incentive though, and at least you have 3 areas in which to qualify.0 -
That would be cool.
It would also be GREAT if women of childbearing age could save $ on insurance premiums by proving their husband had a vasectomy. I suppose there is that percentage of times it fails though, and of course some women cheat...but I still think it would be awesome for me to not have to pay higher rates!
what about single men that have to have maternity coverage on their policies?
Wow...is that a thing? I didn't realize. At my job, I sign up single males for insurance and a single man of say, 30 yrs old, pays about 30-40% less on his insurance than a single female of the same age.0 -
As a Canadian pretty much everything a lot of Americans says about "Obamacare" confuses me to no end.
I will never understand why people will be against affordable health care for everyone. It just baffles me.
Because there's a big difference between affordable health care and affordable health insurance.
The second does not do anything to bring the first about.
Plus, now that the proof is in the pudding, it turns out that the insurance isn't quite as affordable as many people thought it would be ...0 -
As a Canadian pretty much everything a lot of Americans says about "Obamacare" confuses me to no end.
I will never understand why people will be against affordable health care for everyone. It just baffles me.
I dont think most of us are against affordable health care for everyone. What we are against is it being run by the government (they can't run any program effectively), requiring things that aren't necessary in plans etc.
Sorry, I should've been more clear.
By my saying "a lot of Americans" I was really just talking about the ones who are opposed to healthcare for everyone. It was meant more as a blanket statement -- and that's who I was referring to in my second sentence0 -
As a Canadian pretty much everything a lot of Americans says about "Obamacare" confuses me to no end.
I will never understand why people will be against affordable health care for everyone. It just baffles me.
Because there's a big difference between affordable health care and affordable health insurance.
The second does not do anything to bring the first about.
I am confused about what you are saying care to expand on your thought please?0 -
This isn't an arguement about free healthcare...it's not 'free', in fact. It's about whether health insurance companies should allow for some monetary breaks to people who are trying to maintain a healthy lifestyle.
The premiums of the healthy go to pay the care for the sick...that's how it works and why one would not get any kind of substantial break for living a healthy lifestyle. Insurance companies need healthy people enrolled who don't visit doctors and what not in order to cover the care of the sick.0 -
If it were really affordable, I'd be more than happy to call it the affordable care act...but our company stopped providing insurance and b/c I live in a state that didn't expand mediciad I was left up a poop creek...or pay over 200 a month for a very very small plan for just myself, so I'm back to no insurance....but anyway discounts for healthy living would be nice.0
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Considering the only way that this could even come close to not being a financial sinking ship is to overcharge the young and healthy, I just don't see them caring much about those kind of incentives. It is a nice thought though.0
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That would be cool.
It would also be GREAT if women of childbearing age could save $ on insurance premiums by proving their husband had a vasectomy. I suppose there is that percentage of times it fails though, and of course some women cheat...but I still think it would be awesome for me to not have to pay higher rates!
But you're just paying for him and you, I don't think your insurance company makes you pay for kids you don't have.0 -
Some companies do. Ours gives you a break if your biometric screenings come back indicating you are in excellent health. Unfortunately, they also punish you if you have any family history of health diseases (hubby is healthy as a horse, but ineligible for discount because he lost his father to cancer. My dad's (probably non-genetic) heart disease penalizes me). It's frustrating because we work really really hard to keep ourselves in excellent shape, but we don't get the same breaks as people with "healthier" families even though we show no signs of illness ourselves. Ah well.0
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That would be cool.
It would also be GREAT if women of childbearing age could save $ on insurance premiums by proving their husband had a vasectomy. I suppose there is that percentage of times it fails though, and of course some women cheat...but I still think it would be awesome for me to not have to pay higher rates!
They could always offer it for a hysterectomy. Least then even if she is a ho we aren't left paying the bill......nawmean?0 -
That would be cool.
It would also be GREAT if women of childbearing age could save $ on insurance premiums by proving their husband had a vasectomy. I suppose there is that percentage of times it fails though, and of course some women cheat...but I still think it would be awesome for me to not have to pay higher rates!
But you're just paying for him and you, I don't think your insurance company makes you pay for kids you don't have.
Some states make women of child bearing age to carry a maternity rider, which means more money. Some states don't require it.
I am generally ok with that requirement unless it's the women who has been sterilized -- because let's not pretend like women never stray from their snipped spouse.0 -
As a Canadian pretty much everything a lot of Americans says about "Obamacare" confuses me to no end.
I will never understand why people will be against affordable health care for everyone. It just baffles me.
Because there's a big difference between affordable health care and affordable health insurance.
The second does not do anything to bring the first about.
I am confused about what you are saying care to expand on your thought please?
Sure. Affordable health care means that you or I could go to the doctor and expect a reasonable cost for services. $5,000 for a 15min ambulance ride is not particularly affordable, for example. This is really what everyone wants. People differ on how to get there.
Affordable health care insurance means that my premiums for insurance are supposed to be low enough that everyone or the vast majority of people can afford to have insurance. OK. Sounds good. But that does nothing about the cost of that ambulance ride. And high costs for health care means that insurance companies aren't going to be covering anything but the most basic, cheapest treatments out there and the most inexpensive doctors. Not good if you don't do well on generics, or need a specific non-standard treatment. Not good for doctors, or medical research either. Doctors' take home pay has been slashed thanks to insurance overhead. We've got a good number of doctors quitting and/or retiring because they can't make a profit, or not enough of one to be worth the long hours and liability. Medical research is getting slashed because there's few willing to pay for new treatments - no incentive to issue grants if there's no real world return.
Insurance itself raises the cost of health care tremendously - too many people hired to fill out the forms, too much time spent by doctors and hospitals trying to get their bills paid. There are some doctors here that are moving to not accept any insurance at all so they can drastically lower costs to their patients. An interesting experiment that seems to be working well so far. I'm interested to see if it will work well in the long term.0 -
That would be cool.
It would also be GREAT if women of childbearing age could save $ on insurance premiums by proving their husband had a vasectomy. I suppose there is that percentage of times it fails though, and of course some women cheat...but I still think it would be awesome for me to not have to pay higher rates!
what about single men that have to have maternity coverage on their policies?
Wow...is that a thing? I didn't realize. At my job, I sign up single males for insurance and a single man of say, 30 yrs old, pays about 30-40% less on his insurance than a single female of the same age.
Once the ACA is in full effect, every policy must provide for maternity coverage......Including those for a single male0 -
Well, insurance paid for my husband's WLS, because it meant fewer future claims as a result of his obesity. Our copay was minimal, when you consider the cost of such a procedure. But because it means it'll cost them less overall, they were perfectly willing to shell out the money for it.
Possibly because it's a permanent solution to obesity, where general weight loss isn't necessarily?0 -
Once the ACA is in full effect, every policy must provide for maternity coverage......Including those for a single male
My elderly grandparents are looking at this, as well. They're in their 80's and well beyond child bearing ages, but they'll be required to pay for maternity coverage.0 -
I think they should offer a discount to women who agree to only participate in oral/anal sex. I mean if all we are worried about is pregnancy that should do it....And I know none of them would go back on their word once they sign a contract.0
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