If You're Obese, Get Ready To Start Paying Fines
According to an article in Time Magazine, the state of Alabama, unhappy with its second place position in national obesity rankings, intends to reverse course towards healthier living for its constituents by implementing what some are calling a controversial law that would require all obese state employees to pay $25 per month for health insurance costs - a fee they've never had to pay before, since they are government employees, with free health insurance as part of their benefits package. Government statistics show Alabamians have a weight problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 30.3 percent are now obese, ranking the state behind only Mississippi.
I guess the strategy here is to hit them where it hurts the most - their wallets and purses - until they work their bodies into more "acceptable standards," based on the nationally accepted BMI index. A BMI of 30 is considered the threshold for obesity.
State employees will be required to go through annual health screenings to test their blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose levels and for obesity. And those who fail the tests will have to enroll in a fitness 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 $25 monthly starting in January 2011.
Of course, this doesn't sit very well with those fine men and women of Alabama, and complaints have already been registered. However, it looks like it's a done deal, and they'll have to comply... or move to another state... although it's possible that other states could adopt a similar policy, especially given recent national concerns over the overall health of Americans, with a significant number considered obese.
Proponents of big government will likely champion the idea. Others... not so much. I can hear cries of "big brother" coming from the right. A police state is only a few statutes away.
Will it work in the long run? I doubt it! Obesity is an illness as far as I'm concerned, and should be treated as such. It's practically an epidemic now, if you believe the CDC's numbers. This kind of legislation only trivializes it I think, and might actually backfire.
Imagine if it was a nationwide law - the BMI index becomes THE standard by which we all are judged... every American is required to get themselves checked out every year, and the results of their tests are sent to some governing body for verification... and those with BMI's of over 30 are required to enroll in some government approved wellness program, to nurse themselves back to acceptable health standards or pay a monthly fine for as long as they are over the BMI limit. An obvious follow-up question would be, what if someone refuses to do any or all 3 - refuses to have an annual check-up, refuses to get themselves into a wellness program, or refuses to pay the fine? What happens to them then? Will they get thrown in jail for failing to comply? How far will the government go to see its policies enacted?
What do you think?
SOURCE
