this post was submitted on 08 Apr 2024
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We really ought to be passing laws to combat obesity, like adding a tax on unhealthy food and making walking and biking more attractive transportation options.
Or you could mind your own business and let those people pay for their additional health care costs. But that's not going to gain any traction.
Well, but even in the capitalist hellscape of America where we get blatantly overcharged for healthcare, we still largely use a mix of private and public insurance. Even if I didn't care about other people or want them to have long and healthy lives for its own sake, I would still want want them to be healthy because my insurance rate is tied to the overall cost of healthcare, which is higher thanks to people being unhealthy. This is an insane way of thinking, and I want everyone to be healthy for the intrinsic benefits, but even if I were to be completely selfish, well, they're costing me money.
I'm not fan of our healthcare. But if you decouple and simplify the rates it sounds like you still want to force what's important to you on others and I disagree strongly.
Force would mean throwing them in fatty prison or something ridiculous. People can do what they want, I'm still going to encourage them to get healthy. I have yet to talk to someone who regretted getting their weight under control, even those who used to claim they were fine with being overweight. Think of it like just encouraging exercise independent of weight (which is also good for you, regardless of mass status). I'm not going to force anyone into a lap pool, but I will tell them about how good exercise is for you.
Or like...charging them more for healthcare 🤣
What a crazy story you invented.
You actually bring up an interesting point.
Their health care costs are our healthcare costs. The way insurance works, healthy people subsidize unhealthy people's healthcare.
Additionally, many hospitals around America are finding that they have to buy specialized, expensive equipment just to transport and handle bariatric folks. In a few locales, they're charging folks that need this specialized equipment more, but my guess is in many others the cost is once again subsidized by the general population.
That's a choice. Those costs don't have to be paid by the public.
ACA prohibits charging people more for insurance based on their weight, so those costs are paid for by the public.
Right. And that is a choice that was made. You could make a choice to set up a framework to charge them more for their decisions. Instead you and the progressive public are choosing to accept the cost, and then complaining about that cost.
Oh right, I totally forgot that I can just waive my magic wand and change that for everyone, so I have no right to complain.
I guess while I'm at it I might as well waive the magic wand so everyone has perfect health, right? Cut straight to the chase.
What? I can't do that?
Could you believe the audacity I have to point out that under the current status quo, unhealthy people are having their healthcare costs subsidized by healthy people? Because that's fundamentally how insurance works?
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