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On the other hand, American health insurance is arguably the most aggressive in the world at punishing overweight individuals and smokers through penalty fees.

ineedaj0b 1y ago
the fees are bought upon by the partakers of food and cigarettes. do they realize the strain excess weight carries for organs? would it be cheaper in china or Europe to be that size? No. Logistically, other countries would not have equipment readily available and having your poor lifestyle choices subsidized doesn’t mean the cost isn’t there
- typpilol 1y ago
  My mom used to be an MRI nurse. Patients that were so large would have to be denied and referred to the local zoo. I wish I was kidding.
- randycupertino 1y ago
  Obese individuals & smokers actually cost the system less money overall vs slim & healthy people because they die so much earlier - think of the 30+ years of savings! Dutch researchers compared three cohorts (healthy-living nonsmokers, smokers, and people with obesity) from age 20 to death. They found annual costs were higher for obesity through midlife, but lifetime spending was highest for healthy-living people, lowest for smokers, and intermediate for people with obesity, due to shorter life expectancy in the latter two groups. https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0050029 https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371%2F... Another study found total lifetime costs were ~14% lower for the obesity cohort and ~26% lower for smokers versus healthy living peers, again because longer life spans among the healthy group accrue more late life costs. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5596865_Lifetime_Medical_Costs_of_Obesity_Prevention_No_Cure_for_Increasing_Health_Expenditure https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5596865_Lifetime_Me...
captainkrtek 1y ago
“Punishing overweight individuals and smokers”, I’m sorry, while I wish America’s healthcare system was better in terms of cost, some things are choices/habits that have consequences in terms of health and subsequently the care required to treat..
- underlipton 1y ago
  Be the change you wish to see in the world: donate your "skinny person" poop to a needy fecal transplant recipient. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10381135/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10381135/
cyberax 1y ago
That's incorrect. The US health insurance CAN NOT use anything but the current smoker status for pricing decisions.
citizenpaul 1y ago
That's why obesity was added as a medical condition a few years ago. Did anyone think it was added to help people rather than ring up extra bills?

ineedaj0b 1y ago

the fees are bought upon by the partakers of food and cigarettes. do they realize the strain excess weight carries for organs? would it be cheaper in china or Europe to be that size? No. Logistically, other countries would not have equipment readily available and having your poor lifestyle choices subsidized doesn’t mean the cost isn’t there

typpilol 1y ago
My mom used to be an MRI nurse. Patients that were so large would have to be denied and referred to the local zoo. I wish I was kidding.
randycupertino 1y ago
Obese individuals & smokers actually cost the system less money overall vs slim & healthy people because they die so much earlier - think of the 30+ years of savings! Dutch researchers compared three cohorts (healthy-living nonsmokers, smokers, and people with obesity) from age 20 to death. They found annual costs were higher for obesity through midlife, but lifetime spending was highest for healthy-living people, lowest for smokers, and intermediate for people with obesity, due to shorter life expectancy in the latter two groups. https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pmed.0050029 https://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371%2F... Another study found total lifetime costs were ~14% lower for the obesity cohort and ~26% lower for smokers versus healthy living peers, again because longer life spans among the healthy group accrue more late life costs. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5596865_Lifetime_Medical_Costs_of_Obesity_Prevention_No_Cure_for_Increasing_Health_Expenditure https://www.researchgate.net/publication/5596865_Lifetime_Me...

captainkrtek 1y ago

“Punishing overweight individuals and smokers”, I’m sorry, while I wish America’s healthcare system was better in terms of cost, some things are choices/habits that have consequences in terms of health and subsequently the care required to treat..

underlipton 1y ago
Be the change you wish to see in the world: donate your "skinny person" poop to a needy fecal transplant recipient. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10381135/ https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10381135/

cyberax 1y ago

That's incorrect. The US health insurance CAN NOT use anything but the current smoker status for pricing decisions.

citizenpaul 1y ago

That's why obesity was added as a medical condition a few years ago. Did anyone think it was added to help people rather than ring up extra bills?