Arizona Proposes Medicaid Fat Fee

[kpete]

Source: Wall Street Journal

POLITICSAPRIL 1, 2011
Arizona Proposes Medicaid Fat Fee
By JANET ADAMY

Arizona's governor on Thursday proposed levying a $50 fee on some enrollees in the state's cash-starved Medicaid program, including obese people who don't follow a doctor-supervised slimming regimen and smokers.

The plan, if approved by the Republican-dominated legislature, would mark the first time the state-federal health-care program for the poor has charged people for engaging in behavior deemed unhealthy.

Some companies have insurance surcharges for employees who smoke, but they aren't a staple of government-administered health programs.

Republican Gov. Jan Brewer proposed the idea as part of a broader plan to raise money that would allow the state to offset recent cuts she engineered to its Medicaid program. If ratified, the measure would revive coverage of organ transplants, which Arizona limited last year as a way to save money. It would also reduce the number of childless adults disqualified from Medicaid to 135,000, compared with the original proposal of 250,000.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704530204576235151262336300.html?mod=WSJ_hp_MIDDLENexttoWhatsNewsThird

[DJ13]

1. Nothing says 'limited government' like intruding into peoples personal lives

[Born Free]

28. Demolition Man - Illegal.mp4

Anything unhealthy is considered illegal:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=puM1eT15NYw

[atreides1]

2. But

What if they aren't on a doctor-supervised slimming regimen...it's not like the state can make people go to a doctor, that would be like making them pay for health insurance!

And aren't AG's from several states arguing against this kind of unconstitutional requirement in the current health care law?

[lobodons]

8. No problem with fat fee

overweight people cost the medical system proportionately more money than non over weight people thus the extra fee is reasonable just like if you are a male under 25 you pay more in car insurance. You may have a perfect driving record, but you pay more. I did not choose to be male or under 25, but I paid a higher insurance premium nonetheless.

[bread_and_roses]

14. And I guess you think being fat has to do with nothing but "choice"

educate yourself. And btw, see below for an example of how ludicrous some definitions of "obesity" or "unhealthy" are. I guess people choose to be born with a certain body type, a certain metabolism, or into poverty (which makes unhealthy eating virtually inevitable - go try reading the recipes on the USDA food stamp site sometime)

Sanctimonious. It's an ugly word for an ugly attitude.

[Hannah Bell]

23. it's fascist shit.

[Xithras]

9. That's why I don't really have a problem with this.

The fee will only be leveraged against those who CAN lose weight, or quit smoking, and choose not to. If your doctor says that you can do it, but you refuse, you'll have to pay extra.

If your doctor says that you aren't healthy enough to lose weight? No fee. If your doctor thinks your weight is caused by another issue that can't be easily remedied? No fee. If you are following your doctors advice, and the weight just won't come off? No fee.

The fee is only levied against those who are capable of improving their health, but refuse to do so.

[bread_and_roses]

13. And exactly who is going to "police" whether or not you are following dr's advice?

great goddess, I cannot believe anyone here wrote that - and btw, educate yourself about obesity - that's self-righteous nonsense you are spouting. And no, I'm not overweight - through no virtue of my own - I don't exercise and eat on average about twice the calories recommended for my body weight - I'm just lucky.

[anneboleyn]

17. You have more faith than I do in the ability of doctors, etc, to discern who "can" lose the "right"

amount of weight. Weight can be a very complicated issue, having a lot ot do with ethnicity, own's metabolism, thyroid issues (even being borderline on the thyroid test can impact one's weight), income, genetics, and eating habits. It's not so easy that all overweight people just gorge themselves on twinkies, and if they just follow a doctor-prescribed diet, they will lose weight. In my experience with friends and relatives who have been chided for weight issues by physicians, their weights vary considerably (two of them were barely "overweight," maybe ten-fifteen pounds) and there was no interest at all in their ethnic backgrounds or other factors that are known to impact weight. They even had to ask for thyroid tests (and two of them had sluggish thyroids).

[Manifestor_of_Light]

35. They use a pituitary test to test your thyroid!!!

They use the TSH which is what the pituitary puts out to kick-start the thyroid, NOT what thyroid hormones the thyroid itself puts out.

I have asked my doc to test my Free T4 and Free T3 and he has refused. :banghead: He also ignorees my adrenal exhaustion when I mention it.

More info:

www.stopthethyroidmadness.com

http://thyroid.about.com

[JonLP24]

31. AZ legislature is cutting so much shit

and much of that has to do with medicaid and now they want to raise fees for certain people. Bullshit.

[hughee99]

40. I think you hit the nail on the head, two of the EASIEST things to do in the world

are stick to a diet and quit smoking. If someone can't handle these simple tasks, it is clearly because they refuse to do so.

[Rage for Order]

3. Sounds good to me

Why should we have to subsidize other people's unhealthy lifestyle choices just because they can't be bothered to 1) put down the fork or 2) get off the couch and move around?

[Scout]

4. are you really that ignorant, or did you forget the sarcasm thingy? n/t

[Rage for Order]

26. No sarcasm intended. Tell me why mine is a bad idea

We charge smokers more for their coverage. Being obese or overweight is scientifically proven to elevate the risks of (and cause) certain serious health problems. If people want to engage in risky behavior that elevates their risk or increases their chances of falling victim to a "fat" malady or a "lazy" complication then I think we should price their health insurance accordingly to accurately capture all of the risk associated with their behavior.

[Le Taz Hot]

32. There are days that my asthma is so bad

and if I've run out of medication (when my doctor runs out of freebies) that to "get off the couch and move around" would literally kill me. Any other suggestions, genius?

[gadjitfreek]

5. Here in NY there was unbridled outrage

when Gov. Patterson recommended a tax on sugary drinks. We get commercials with angry women who scream "How will we be able to afford to feed our kids?" Personally, as a fat guy (trying desperately to lose weight) I think a surtax on anything with high fructose corn syrup or processed foods would be a good idea. We don't eat healthy as a country because cheap crap is more widely available.

[Scout]

6. some of us don't eat "healthy" because we don't like "healthy" food

:shrug:

i don't think a tax will do anything.

[Biker13]

25. With All Due Respect...

If you choose that lifestyle, you have to live with the consequences. It's another thing altogether if you have a medical condition. Adults know this.

Biker's Old Lady

[HockeyMom]

12. Be glad you don't live and work in

Naples, Florida for the school district. Fat people? HA. Waist/Hip measurements ratio. I have a coworker who weighs 90 lbs. Her 23 inch waist is too "big" for her 32 inch hips. They are increasing her premiums because she is at risk of a heart attack because she is "apple" shaped. Tell her to LOOSE WEIGHT? At 90 lbs? Not even THESE MORONS think that. She is UNDERWEIGHT by all charts. They are telling her she doesn't eat the right foods and needs a diet coach (????) and needs to go to a GYM to get her waist measurement down. Of course, only an APPROVED gym and at HER expense.

Did I mention this woman is 60 years old?

[SoCalNative]

7. This sounds like

excellent grounds for a discrimination lawsuit right here:

"Ms. Brewer's surcharge would apply only to only certain childless adults: Those who are obese or chronically ill, and those who smoke."

[Missy Vixen]

15. Oh, bring it

I know I'm healthier than Jan Brewer.

:eyes:

[anneboleyn]

20. Yes, why only "certain" CHILDLESS fat adults or smokers?

[SkyDaddy7]

10. COULD YOU IMAGINE...

If President Obama had proposed this??

This goes to show how hypocritical Republicans are!!

[SomeGuyInEagan]

11. I find it ironic that a Crisco ad appears when I load this thread.

Crazy adbots ... gotta love them.

[bread_and_roses]

16. Wow, the authoritarian personality is in fine fettle in this thread

gotta love how eager some are to dictate to and sneer at others. Sanctimonious. Self-righteous. Both, in my book, far greater hazards to a community than the overweight or even smokers.

[anneboleyn]

18. My thoughts exactly. It's always okay in Puritan America to condemn fatties and smokers

Never mind that the Arizona gov. is evil in her draconian "overhaul" of Medicaid, going after the poorest folks again, as usual. This time she's not targeting those who need organ transplants, but the fatties and smokers.

[A Simple Game]

19. I see a lot of people don't understand the concept of insurance.

The idea is to spread the burden. One person even says it is OK because he was discriminated against on his car insurance, so why shouldn't larger people be discriminated against on health insurance.

[anneboleyn]

21. Then it's okay to discriminate based on other factors, such as race, that predispose one to certain

diseases. This is the problem with opening a huge can of worms as far as figuring out who should get "penalized" as far as their health insurance is concerned. Do we charge those women with first-degree relatives who have had breast cancer or ovarian cancer extra, since they are more likely to contract the disease?

[A Simple Game]

36. In a perfect insurance system the ones that would get penalized

would be the ones that have perfect health. Some cost more, some cost less, everyone pays the average.

[Hannah Bell]

24. medicaid isn't "insurance".

[A Simple Game]

37. You're right, technically it isn't insurance,

but it is designed to spread the burden.

The problem is it spreads the burden to people that may not want to support the system.

[JonLP24]

38. No worries there

The medicaid program in this state has been cut A LOT.

[Downwinder]

22. Smoke pot not tobacco.

[roody]

27. ...but only if you want to be healthy.

[NeoConsSuck]

29. applies to childless adults?

WTF does that mean? And what does that have to do with anything?

[Blandocyte]

30. Getting closer to eugenics?

How much longer until they start thinking of ending coverage for poor parents who choose to give birth to choldren they know will be disabled? Or not cover care for pregnant mothers who are genetically likely to give birth to a child who might need many resouces and services?

Yes, I know this is taking the scenario out to the realm of eugenics sci fi, but, to me, it seems like a slippery slope.

[SydNav]

33. Judge, jury and....

It seems like each year we fall further into the rabbit hole of deciding who is and isn’t worthy of being helped. Each year our humanity slips a little further away while the list of those we condemn and judge grows exponentially. We’re at a point where we are comfortable justifying our condemnation based solely on its monetary cost. I don't like that.

[sarcasmo]

34. Taxing the fat I knew it was coming when they came out with that crazy new weight chart.

[sarcasmo]

39. Kick back to the top. Arizona continues the stupidity.

[Bluegene]

41. Staying out of our lives

Yeah, so much for the Republican argument for government to just stay out of our lives. They bring more control than anyone can imagine. Yeah, now the government will have to have access to all your medical records in AZ to make sure you are following the letter of the law with your diet and exercise.