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Body Mass police will be checking up on chubby state employees

Say you're a teacher or an employee of a state agency who, after July 1, 2011, attests that you aren't obese.

Why would you do that? To qualify for a better deal under the State Employees Health Plan.

You -- and your covered dependents -- must have a Body Mass Index less than 40 kg/m2, or participate in a weight-management program, or have a physician-certified medical condition that prevents the attainment of the required BMI.

Health plan managers won't necessarily accept your BMI claim.

Subscribers may be "randomly selected to participate" in a "weight management verification test at their worksite," a health plan info sheet says. "Height and weight measurements will be collected to determine BMI status."

Randomly selected? Come on.

"Hey, chubby. Can you step on the scales, please? Let's just check out that BMI status, shall we?

"My, my. You have either miscalculated, or you had a VERY big breakfast this morning. I'm afraid we're going to have to make a hefty adjustment to your monthly insurance premiums."

Hopefully, no such embarrassing episodes will ensue from this new policy. But the approach still strikes me as degrading.

Are there ways for the state to encourage healthy lifestyles among its work force without checking up on employees' weight at work, with financial penalties assessed on those who are deemed too fat?

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Posted by Doug Clark on Wednesday, October 7, 2009 at 10:49 am

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axhandle

October 7, 2009 - 12:09 pm EDT

I have no problem utilizing certain tests to let healthy individuals qualify for health insurance discounts. Why should I be penalized because "Joe Lazy Smoker" had 3 heart attacks and chemo for lung cancer? My problem is with the BMI system. It is far too simplified a measure to be used for any purpose. Of course, I could just be mad that it says I am obese when I spend 8 hours a week in a gym and an extra $200 a month in food so I can be this size.

Connie Mack Jr

October 7, 2009 - 1:18 pm EDT

Are there ways for the state to encourage healthy lifestyles among its work force without checking up on employees' weight at work, with financial penalties assessed on those who are deemed too fat?* Doug

Yes! The Governor can assigned the Fat State employees to the National Guard and have them shipped off to Afganhastian in order to save the Corporate Health Insurance Complex a ton of money in claims.........

Doug Johnson

October 7, 2009 - 1:48 pm EDT

If, I am not mistaken. 30kg is consider to be overweight.
So that seems generous to me!
If you do not think we are headed down the wrong road, find you a bench in the mall, and watch the folks walk by.
Years ago you were rated on insurance, by your life style and job.
I have no problem with it.
I have to pay for these overweight , lard butts!

Doug

October 7, 2009 - 2:13 pm EDT

If they really wanted to crack down, they could fire any state employee seen at the Golden Corral all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet.

tonymo

October 8, 2009 - 3:40 pm EDT

Can anyone say OBAMASCARE! This is the future of this once bastion of individual liberties. People we'd better soon wake up before we all wake up in country that we could never, in our wildest dreams, er, nightmares, have imagined just a short time ago!

The subject of this blog is just the beginning! The real purpose of the "smart grid" is to gain control of our thermostats. They tried this in Crazyfornia, but made the mistake of telling the truth about it, and there was a huge outcry!

The Treasury told our favorite Olympics procurer that the Cap & Tax scam will cost almost us TEN times more than we were told, and within $100 of what the Hertiage Foundation projected! The Liar-in-Chief was told this BEFORE his speech when he told us LITTLE it would cost us!

This all happening while CNN is fact checking an SNL comedy skit! This is NOT the America in which I was reared. I feel sorry for anyone who placidly accepts this tryanny.