Ala. To Charge Obese Workers $25 Monthy

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Ala. To Charge Obese Workers $25 Monthly
Insurance To Cost More For People Who Don't Try

Posted: 7:38 am CDT August 22, 2008

Montgomery, Ala. -- Alabama, pushed to second in national obesity rankings by deep-fried Southern favorites, is cracking down on state workers who are too fat.

The state has given its 37,527 employees a year to start getting fit or they'll pay $25 a month for insurance that otherwise is free.

Alabama will be the first state to charge overweight state workers who don't work on slimming down, while a handful of other states reward employees who adopt healthy behaviors.

Alabama already charges workers who smoke and has seen some success in getting them to quit but now has turned its attention to a problem that plagues many in the Deep South: obesity.

The State Employees' Insurance Board this week approved a plan to charge state workers starting in January 2010 if they don't have free health screenings.

If the screenings turn up serious problems with blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose or obesity, employees will have a year to see a doctor at no cost, enroll in a wellness program or take steps on their own to improve their health. If they show progress in a follow-up screening, they won't be charged. But if they don't, they must pay starting in January 2011.

"We are trying to get individuals to become more aware of their health," said state worker Robert Wagstaff, who serves on the insurance board.

Not all state employees see it that way.

"It's terrible," said health department employee Chequla Motley. "Some people come into this world big."

Computer technician Tim Colley already pays $24 a month for being a smoker and doesn't like the idea of another charge.

"It's too Big Brotherish," he said.

The board will apply the obesity charge to anyone with a body mass index of 35 or higher who is not making progress. A person 5 feet 6 inches tall weighing 220 pounds, for example, would have a BMI of 35.5. A BMI of 30 is considered the threshold for obesity.

The board has not yet determined how much progress a person would have to show and is uncertain how many people might be affected because everyone could avoid the charge by working to lose weight.

But that's unlikely: Government statistics show Alabamians have a big weight problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30.3 percent are now obese, ranking the state behind only Mississippi.

E.K. Daufin of Montgomery, a college professor and founder of Love Your Body, Love Yourself, which holds body acceptance workshops, said the new policy will be stressful for people like her.

"I'm big and beautiful and doing my best to keep my stress levels down so I can stay healthy," Daufin said. "That's big, not lazy, not a glutton and certainly not deserving of the pompous, poisonous disrespect served up daily to those of us with more bounce to the ounce."

A recent study suggested that about half of overweight people and nearly a third of obese people have normal blood pressure and cholesterol levels, while about a quarter of people considered to be normal weight suffer from the ills associated with obesity.

Walter Lindstrom, founder of the Obesity Law and Advocacy Center in California, said he's concerned that all overweight Alabama employees will get is advice to walk more and broil their chicken.

"The state will feel good about itself for offering something and the person of size will end up paying $300 a year for the bad luck of having a chronic disease his/her state-sponsored insurance program failed to cover in an appropriate and meaningful fashion," he said.

William Ashmore, executive director of the State Employees' Insurance Board, said the state will spend an extra $1.6 million next year on screenings and wellness programs, but should see significant long-term savings.

Ashmore said research shows someone with a body mass index of 35 to 39 generates $1,748 more in annual medical expenses than someone with a BMI less than 25, considered normal.

According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, a few states offer one-time financial incentives for pursuing healthy lifestyles. Ohio workers, for instance, get $50 for having health assessments and another $50 for following through with the advice.

Arkansas and Missouri go a step further, offering monthly discounts on premiums for employees who take health risk assessments and participate in wellness programs to reduce obesity, stress and other health problems.

Alabama's new policy is drawing no objection from the lobbying group representing state workers.

Mac McArthur, executive director of Alabama State Employees Association, said the plan is not designed to punish employees.

"It's a positive," he said.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved.

[Hollow]

Ala. To Charge Obese Workers $25 Monthly Insurance To Cost More For People Who Don't Try

that damn run-on sentence gave me too much of a headache to even finish interpreting what it means.

[Schmoopie]

I think if anything insurance companies should charge people who smoke more than those who don't. Think about it. The project manager of my office (AKA my boss's boss's boss) died from lung cancer this past February, and since most of the people in my office smoke, I figured that would get them to want to quit; by seeing what it would do to someone who was only 49 years old (and he was very thin; not obese in the least), but I still see almost everyone in my office smoking.

That's crazy. I would have stopped a long time ago, even though I can understand how hard it would be to quit.

Andrea

[catlover79]

[Hollow]

isn't this discrimination?

[LuLu Rogers]

Leave it to my home state to do crazy things.

[veggie-tari-jenn]

imo thats crazy and wrong and I agree about the smokers...I dont think we should just single out one group.

[sunshinefizzy]

Wow. This is just wrong.

[Stormtracker TF]

Originally Posted by safety pin

isn't this discrimination?

Well it is the South we're talking about.

[LuLu Rogers]

Originally Posted by Stormtracker TF

Well it is the South we're talking about.

Watch it!

[Courtnee]

Originally Posted by Stormtracker TF

Well it is the South we're talking about.

*Stabs*

[SBTB Geek]

Great idea!

[Corolla]

Originally Posted by Stormtracker TF

Well it is the South we're talking about.

[PunkyP0WER]

i know some people must think that a "fat" person got that way because they have no self control when it comes to eating or they graze on junk food all day or are couch potatoes that don't exercise but honestly some people can't help it. there are medical conditions that can cause someone to gain weight and even medications.

in 2005, only 3 years ago i was a trim 115 lbs (my weight fluctuated between 105-120), then i made the decision to get the birth control shot. i remember exactly when i got it, the day before thanksgiving. on thanksgiving day i wore tight size 5 leather pants and by the time i took a trip to vegas a few weeks later in december i was unable to fit into those pants. the weight gain was that rapid. so rapid you didn't realize what was going on until it was too late.

i got this shot at a planned parenthood clinic since i did not have insurance and i strongly believe if i went to a regular doctor i would have been better informed and would have made a different choice. i was stupid enough to get another shot as only worrying about contraception once every 3 months was convenient and now i am 60 lbs overweight. after the 2nd shot i went back to the pill but the damage was already done, i believe the shot affected my metabolism and hormones. i was also told i might have an underlying thyroid condition after the fact that did not react well with the hormones in the shot. since then i worry about my health. although i'm only 26, i fear my body is setting itself up for problems down the road. the majority of my dads side has diabetes also being overweight puts you at a higher risk for certain cancers and heart ailments. and it scares me when i read predictions that todays generations aren't going to live as long as their parents or grandparents because of the obesity epidemic. what happened to tim russert scares me and everytime i see a relatively young age listed in the obituaries it makes me wonder if it was because of an unhealthy lifestyle.

so next time you see an overweight person please try not to snicker and fault them. like me, some of them can not help the situation they're in. i can't tell you how much i miss the person i was 3 years ago however vain that may sound. i'm not obese by any means but when you lived all your life thin and suddenly put on significant weight it can effect your psyche.

[PattiB]

I think it should be our right to decide if we want to smoke. I also think they have no right to charge anyone who does. My daughter smokes and it drives me crazy but it's her right and she's over 21. As far as the weight issue, it is wrong on so many counts to charge these people. I for one think too many people stick their nose in our own personal business these days. Would it be healthier for them if they weren't overweight? Without a doubt but that is not my business and certainly nobody else's. When will they start charging fees if you have a glass of wine, watch certain TV shows, don't play sports or worship in a Church they don't approve of. They need to back off, this was still America the last time I checked!