remember, kids, Discrimination starts with a (D)

[Superman]

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/201...adviser-should-tax-fat-people-by-body-weight/

Ex-ObamaCare adviser Gruber: Tax fat people by body weight

Jonathan Gruber, long credited as the architect of ObamaCare, once discussed the necessity of taxing fat people by body weight in order to fight obesity.

“Ultimately, what may be needed to address the obesity problem are direct taxes on body weight,” Gruber wrote in an essay for the National Institute for Health Care Management in April 2010, just months after helping design ObamaCare with the president in the Oval Office and during the period in which he was under contract as an Obama administration consultant.

“While it is hard to conceive of this approach being a common public policy tool in the near term, such taxation may be happening indirectly through health insurance surcharges,” he wrote. “Currently, employers may charge up to 20 percent higher health insurance premiums for employees who fail to meet certain health-related standards, such as attaining a healthy BMI.”

“The new health reform legislation increases this differential to 30 percent, with the possibility of rising to 50 percent. Results of programs that use differential premiums to impose direct financial penalties for obesity will bear watching in the future.”

 

[Turd Ferguson]

Do poor people still get the obligatory pass on paying a penny for their healthcare? Double taxation, first I work so I have to pay for insurance, then...hop on another 20-30 percent if I don't meet a weigh criteria. Meanwhile, Shaniqua eats at McD's everyday and goes to the grocery store with her free food stamps and doesn't pay a dime for insurance being overweight. Really?

 

[21STEELERS21]

That wouldn't be classified as discrimination. Obesity does increase health costs for the individual, so you either pass those higher
costs onto the person who chooses an unhealthy lifestyle or you get those who choose healthy lifestyles to pay higher premium
costs to support the unhealthy person. That's how insurance works.

You either penalize the person making bad choices or you penalize the person making healthy choices by forcing him to subsidize the obese.

 

[Turd Ferguson]

You either penalize the person making bad choices or you penalize the person making healthy choices by forcing him to subsidize the obese.

No, you penalize the working person who makes the choice and force him to subsidize.

 

[Steelr4evr]

hmmm that doesn't sound like it's affordable or something covered under "existing conditions." So all of the smokers, drinkers,drug users,reckless drivers and any other lifestyle choice we can come up with we will tax as well. I see how this is going to work. Maybe we can microchip everyone so we will know what they're all doing 24/7 and punish them accordingly in fines. The new socialist utopia demands obedience! The answer of course is more government control.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Maybe that's why the 350 lb guy I work with at the airport just got a gastric bypass.

 

[Superman]

someone on this board said once that ObamaCare will be so detrimental and invasive that the government will then have a vested interest in what you eat and do so as to keep you healthy.

which, of course, is PRECISELY what the founding fathers envisioned when they signed our country into existence.

 

[bermudasteel]

hmmm that doesn't sound like it's affordable or something covered under "existing conditions." So all of the smokers, drinkers,drug users,reckless drivers and any other lifestyle choice we can come up with we will tax as well. I see how this is going to work. Maybe we can microchip everyone so we will know what they're all doing 24/7 and punish them accordingly in fines. The new socialist utopia demands obedience! The answer of course is more government control.

someone on this board said once that ObamaCare will be so detrimental and invasive that the government will then have a vested interest in what you eat and do so as to keep you healthy.

which, of course, is PRECISELY what the founding fathers envisioned when they signed our country into existence.

Quoted for truth (IMO)...

 

[ark steel]

That wouldn't be classified as discrimination. Obesity does increase health costs for the individual, so you either pass those higher
costs onto the person who chooses an unhealthy lifestyle or you get those who choose healthy lifestyles to pay higher premium
costs to support the unhealthy person. That's how insurance works.

You either penalize the person making bad choices or you penalize the person making healthy choices by forcing him to subsidize the obese.

Where do you draw that line? What if they are obese because of some other medical condition? What if one race is more genetically disposed towards a certain disease?

 

[21STEELERS21]

Smokers and drug users are already penalized, just look on an insurance application. This has little to do with Obamacare, its what insurance companies have been doing
since they went into business.

When someone causes a car accident, what happens to their car insurance?

 

[ark steel]

Smokers and drug users are already penalized, just look on an insurance application. This has little to do with Obamacare, its what insurance companies have been doing
since they went into business.

When someone causes a car accident, what happens to their car insurance?

I asked a specific question, not for more stuff that has/does. Where do you draw the line? Insurance used to use a lot of different categories. government restricts those to some extent, which ***** up everyone else's premiums.

 

[hamster]

Smokers and drug users are already penalized, just look on an insurance application. This has little to do with Obamacare, its what insurance companies have been doing
since they went into business.

When someone causes a car accident, what happens to their car insurance?

Where does it say anything about insurance? This is a tax that goes directly into government coffers. How do they plan on collecting them?

 

[madinsomniac]

I am no Democrat or republican, but I count Obama every bit the miserable failure of a President Bush is. at this point the only people who defend the outcome of his imbecilic terms are hardcore democrats. Literally anyone I see defending him I decide isn't worth my time because they are either comically stupid or so indoctrinated that they are virtual democrat cultists who have no mind of their own. There was a perfectly fine outline of how to do health care that a dozen other countries follow without any of this mess we have. what we put in place is literally made to be control and corruption friendly.

 

[Steeltime]

That wouldn't be classified as discrimination. Obesity does increase health costs for the individual, so you either pass those higher costs onto the person who chooses an unhealthy lifestyle or you get those who choose healthy lifestyles to pay higher premium
costs to support the unhealthy person. That's how insurance works.

Yes, it would. I work in employment discrimination, and know a lot about this area.

First, obesity is in fact a recognized disability under both the ADA and most state laws, because it affects major life activities (working, exercising, etc.).

Second, the proposal to tax the obese more would violate the ADA, since it would differentiate just on the basis of body mass, without limiting such taxes to those who ACTUALLY use more health care. Any policy or plan which implements differential treatment simply due to a protected characteristic - including obesity - and for no reason other than the characteristic is illegal.

It really is no different than taxing African-Americans more, on the theory that "they use police resources more frequently." Uhhh, yeah, but police resources are a government function, so they need to do their damn job and not differentiate a protected class simply because some politician can come up with an excuse for the illegal behavior.

 

[Yinzerlyn]

People who work out and are muscular can have a BMI that classifies them as "overweight." So tax those people because of that too?

 

[oneforthebus]

All you physical fitness nuts are costing me money. Time to tax you:

Injuries by Sport
According to the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury
Surveillance System (NEISS), more than 1.9 million individuals had a sports-related injury that
was treated in emergency departments in 2012. By sport, there were:
• Nearly 570,000 basketball injuries were treated in emergency departments nationwide,
including over 8,000 that resulted in hospitalization.
o 93 percent of injuries were among men.
1 NEISS Data Highlights – 2012. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), Bethesda, MDASPE Issue Brief Page 2
ASPE Office of Health Policy March 17, 2014
• Nearly 557,000 bicycling injuries were treated in emergency departments nationwide
including over 42,000 that resulted in hospitalization.
o 71 percent of injuries were among men.
• More than 466,000 football injuries were treated in emergency departments nationwide,
including about 10,000 that resulted in hospitalization.
o 88 percent of injuries were among men.
• More than 265,000 baseball and softball injuries were treated in emergency departments
nationwide, including over 4,500 that resulted in hospitalization.
o 73 percent of injuries were among men.
• More than 231,000 soccer injuries were treated in emergency departments nationwide,
including over 5,000 that resulted in hospitalization.
o 83 percent of injuries were among men.
Source: ASPE computations from U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission's National Electronic Injury
Surveillance System for 2012
Estimated rate of sports-related injuries among individuals above the age of 25 is:
• Bicycling – 126.5 per 100,000 individuals
• Basketball – 61.2 per 100,000 individuals
• Baseball and softball – 41.3 per 100,000 individuals
• Football – 25.2 per 100,000 individuals
• Soccer – 23.8 per 100,000 individuals
- 20,000 40,000 60,000 80,000 100,000

http://www.aspe.hhs.gov/health/reports/2014/SportsInjuries/ib_SportsInjuries.pdf

Number of injuries among individuals 25 to 40
years and by gender
Injuries among men, ages 25-40 years Injuries among 25-40 year oldsASPE Issue Brief Page 3
ASPE Office of Health Policy March 17, 2014
The estimated rates are higher among children and young adults under the age of 25:
• Sports-related injuries make up about 20 percent of all injury-related emergency
department visits among children age 6 to 19.2
• An estimated 12 million individuals between the ages of 5 and 22 years suffer a sportrelated
injury annually, which leads to 20 million lost days of school3 and approximately
$33 billion in health care costs.4
• In youth basketball, almost 12 percent of girls seen in the emergency department were
diagnosed with concussions compared to 7 percent of boys.
• In youth soccer, 17 percent of girls seen in the emergency department were diagnosed
with a concussion compared to 12 percent of boys.2

 

[Steelr4evr]

hahaha. I will add i haven't cost anyone a dime in 30 years. All injuries I've rehabbed myself. Stitches and cast came out of pocket. I am batting 100% when coming to training others as well(thousands) on injury rate. My motto is do no harm. Of course what they do to themselves in sport or at home is out of my hands..haha. At what point do we then start suing our neighbors for costing us too much money ? I could see that starting in California. The great socialist utopia.

 

[Steelr4evr]

The answer of course is more government! We need way more regulation of everything. We need more brilliant people making all of our decisions for us 365 days a year.

 

[oneforthebus]

hahaha. I will add i haven't cost anyone a dime in 30 years. All injuries I've rehabbed myself. Stitches and cast came out of pocket. I am batting 100% when coming to training others as well(thousands) on injury rate. My motto is do no harm. Of course what they do to themselves in sport or at home is out of my hands..haha. At what point do we then start suing our neighbors for costing us too much money ? I could see that starting in California. The great socialist utopia.

Between prematurity, asthma and injuries, my skinny little physically fit kids have cost about 1000 times more in healthcare costs than my obese husband has, lol.

 

[Rod Farva]

People who work out and are muscular can have a BMI that classifies them as "overweight." So tax those people because of that too?

I'm 6'2" and weigh 210....I believe I meet the gubmints "overweight" guidelines.

hahaha. I will add i haven't cost anyone a dime in 30 years. All injuries I've rehabbed myself. Stitches and cast came out of pocket. I am batting 100% when coming to training others as well(thousands) on injury rate. My motto is do no harm. Of course what they do to themselves in sport or at home is out of my hands..haha. At what point do we then start suing our neighbors for costing us too much money ? I could see that starting in California. The great socialist utopia.

I do my own minor surgeries.

 

[Steelr4evr]

People who work out and are muscular can have a BMI that classifies them as "overweight." So tax those people because of that too?

BMI is only a standard for the non athlete or muscular types.I know the military kept that standard for the longest time...stupid. It doesn't apply. Bodyfat % to fat free mass. That's the real ticket. A tape measurement doesn't lie either. Normally for every 5 pounds of body fat a person loses you will see an inch drop off the waist. Well unless that person genetically puts all of or most of their adipose tissue in the legs&hips.

 

[Steelr4evr]

I'm 6'2" and weigh 210....I believe I meet the gubmints "overweight" guidelines.



I do my own minor surgeries.

haha...I'm 5' 9" 210lbs 11% body fat currently. I blowout the bmi meter. You could actually stick another 30 pounds on your frame and be fine. Not fat of course. A very good friend of mine who worked out with me for years down in florida is 6'2" 240 and about 14% bodyfat. He can run the mile in about 6 min flat or less and can kick like a mule...haha

 

[Steelr4evr]

Between prematurity, asthma and injuries, my skinny little physically fit kids have cost about 1000 times more in healthcare costs than my obese husband has, lol.

Those trends will reverse eventually..haha. My son made 3 trips to the ER over the last 10 years between getting cracked in the head with a baseball bat(looked like he was in a UFC fight and took an elbow to the orbital bone ) and his dumb skateboard antics that broke his foot and compound sprained the ankle a few times each leg.

 

[Tim Steelersfan]

Those trends will reverse eventually..haha. My son made 3 trips to the ER over the last 10 years between getting cracked in the head with a baseball bat(looked like he was in a UFC fight and took an elbow to the orbital bone ) and his dumb skateboard antics that broke his foot and compound sprained the ankle a few times each leg.

I'm pretty sure her children are older than yours.

 

[ark steel]

Those trends will reverse eventually..haha. My son made 3 trips to the ER over the last 10 years between getting cracked in the head with a baseball bat(looked like he was in a UFC fight and took an elbow to the orbital bone ) and his dumb skateboard antics that broke his foot and compound sprained the ankle a few times each leg.

I found a fool proof way of keeping your kid out of emergency rooms. Apparently, it is buy the insurance that reimburses you the copay, up to something like $100. The insurance was very cheap. Before insurance, kid had a few trips to ER. Since? None.