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Does this imply that higher health insurance rates aimed at people with less healthy lifestyles is really just another insurance scam? Penalize them while we ca

Does this imply that higher health insurance rates aimed at people with less healthy lifestyles is really just another insurance scam? Penalize them while we can, and easily get away with it because it is socially acceptable?

drzaiusapelord 10y ago
Obese people spend thousands more per year on healthcare and an obese BMI of 30-35 results in only a 2-4 year lifespan reduction. The GP is massaging data to fit a fat acceptance narrative. Healthcare companies fight against obesity because of quality of life issues as well as cost savings. Its not a conspiracy.
- Someone1234 10y ago
  The GP is presenting multiple studies in respectable journals. You'd have to show that the studies themselves are "massaging data" which you haven't attempted to do.
  - drzaiusapelord 10y ago
    Forbes: Obese men rack up an additional $1,152 a year in medical spending, especially for hospitalizations and prescription drugs, Cawley and Chad Meyerhoefer of Lehigh University reported in January in the Journal of Health Economics. Obese women account for an extra $3,613 a year. Using data from 9,852 men (average BMI: 28) and 13,837 women (average BMI: 27) ages 20 to 64, among whom 28 percent were obese, the researchers found even higher costs among the uninsured: annual medical spending for an obese person was $3,271 compared with $512 for the non-obese.” Making the cost impact all the more troubling is the fact that, unlike smokers, obese people tend to live almost as long as those who keep their weight under control. "Smokers die early enough that they save Social Security, private pensions, and Medicare" trillions of dollars", said Duke's Eric Finkelstein. "But mortality isn't that much higher among the obese." http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/04/30/obesity-now-costs-americans-more-in-healthcare-costs-than-smoking/#246dc95f18c5 http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/04/30/obesity-now...
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btian 10y ago
No because health insurance usually only last one year, and person with unhealthy lifestyle would statistically cost more than person with healthy lifestyle in one year at the same age.
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drzaiusapelord 10y ago

Obese people spend thousands more per year on healthcare and an obese BMI of 30-35 results in only a 2-4 year lifespan reduction. The GP is massaging data to fit a fat acceptance narrative. Healthcare companies fight against obesity because of quality of life issues as well as cost savings. Its not a conspiracy.

Someone1234 10y ago
The GP is presenting multiple studies in respectable journals. You'd have to show that the studies themselves are "massaging data" which you haven't attempted to do.
- drzaiusapelord 10y ago
  Forbes: Obese men rack up an additional $1,152 a year in medical spending, especially for hospitalizations and prescription drugs, Cawley and Chad Meyerhoefer of Lehigh University reported in January in the Journal of Health Economics. Obese women account for an extra $3,613 a year. Using data from 9,852 men (average BMI: 28) and 13,837 women (average BMI: 27) ages 20 to 64, among whom 28 percent were obese, the researchers found even higher costs among the uninsured: annual medical spending for an obese person was $3,271 compared with $512 for the non-obese.” Making the cost impact all the more troubling is the fact that, unlike smokers, obese people tend to live almost as long as those who keep their weight under control. "Smokers die early enough that they save Social Security, private pensions, and Medicare" trillions of dollars", said Duke's Eric Finkelstein. "But mortality isn't that much higher among the obese." http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/04/30/obesity-now-costs-americans-more-in-healthcare-costs-than-smoking/#246dc95f18c5 http://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2012/04/30/obesity-now...

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btian 10y ago

No because health insurance usually only last one year, and person with unhealthy lifestyle would statistically cost more than person with healthy lifestyle in one year at the same age.

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