Apparently bigzero was "blindsided" by too many words in a single post. He doesn't do well after the first couple sentences. I've found it's best to keep your replies to him very short, very simple (3rd - 5th grade level) and better yet. S p a c e - t h e - w o r d s - o u t forcing him to read very slowly.
You apparently completely missed my point!! Any decent high deductible policy (pre-Odumbocare) covered an annual physical. So IMO it is foolish to 'waste it'. It's typically the only time I go to the doctor each year. So after paying premiums for 12 months I feel like I should at least do the annual physical. Never know what could be lurking ... and bloodwork annually can possible detect any abnormalities. Again, all of that was paid by my 'lousy' policy. And that is where Odumbo is 100% wrong. We need to not penalize the 1/3 of the nation who are healthy and FORCE them to buy a policy that is not relevant to their well being and at the same time subsidize the other 2/3 who are overweight or obese. Ask yourself WHY people who CHOOSE to abuse their body are afforded the same premiums as those who do all the right things to keep themselves healthy. This is a major problem with Dems ... an unwillingness to accept any personal responsibility. We can't accept the feeble excuses forever ... obese people know they are. They know they should eat healthier meals. They know they should exercise. So WHY don't they? Why do the CHOOSE to develop health issues that now are categorized as 'pre-existing' conditions? I could CHOOSE to be a slob also. But I don't and one reason is I pay 100% of my health costs and have done that the past 18 years. Personal responsibility ... something I take seriously. Sad that many others don't.
I think Valerie Jarrett might be in some parallel universe. Hereâs a recent quote: "What weâve seen over the last four years since our healthcare plan was passed is weâve had less increase in premiums than ever before in the last 50 years." Umm, what? Either sheâs seriously seriously confused, or sheâs straight up lying. And itâs not one of those âNo, I wasnât speeding, officerâ type of lies either. This is a lie to 300 million people about their health care. Itâs like sheâs trying to do a Jedi mind trick on the entire U.S. population. While our insurance premiums get higher, sheâs saying âYouâre premiums are going down.â Maybe she thinks we wonât notice... http://poorrichardsnews.com/post/80659057066/valerie-jarrett-lying-obamacare-is-really-lowering
Put a health ins tax on fast food and high fat foods, sugar, etc., health tax on alcohol and cigarettes and the fed fund the difference and have single payer. Problem solved. We all pay a base rate through taxes and unhealthy activities and diet are charged as incurred. This would be my preferred way to take care of one end of the health care problem. Fixing the medical and prescription drug cartels would take different actions. But until someone puts forward a better plan work on the ACA.
Obesity and poverty are strongly correlated. Healthier food is more expensive per calorie than junk food which is full of subsidized, carbohydrate dense grain.
I'd strongly support taxes on crap food and higher taxes on cigarettes. Just as companies have incentives for good health I see no reason that couldn't be extended to the general public who buys their own health insurance. As simple as looking at a persons statistics .. do they fall within a 'normal' height & weight? What is their average annual cost as far as health expenses? Those who take care of themselves through diet and exercise get a premium credit at the end of the year. People are motivated by $$$.
As someone who volunteers at our local foodbank and has a pretty good grasp on the challenges some families face regarding food - let me say that your statement above is correct. Let me follow-up and say however that I do no believe that a tax on high fat foods, sugar, snack foods, etc. will help the problem - this will only cause more stress on low income families facing food challenges. It is unlikely that any tax will be high enough to make the healthy food look cheap in comparison. The tax will not change the food habits of families, it will simply put more stress on low income families who will be unable to feed themselves. A better path (that has been experimented with) is to hand-out discount coupons for healthy food for families on SNAP. The coupons allow families to buy particular healthy food items at deep discounts (SNAP card required). This type of program has a better impact on improving the nutrition of low-income families while not increasing their food stress.
We don't have a low calorie problem in America. People don't need a 1200 calorie fast food binge. If they do that let them pay the projected health cost right then.
Disagree. Healthy food isn't necessarily more expensive. Actually fast food is incredibly EXPENSIVE! My wife started a new science program at the poorest elementary school in our area. It's where I've volunteered the past 7 years. She is teaching kids science in an outdoor learning environment with it focused on a garden where they grow kale, tomatoes, eggplant, collards, peppers, lettuce, etc. She received no $$$ from the school district. Rather, she raised close to $200K on her own and has the program in the 3rd year now. The kids have their own Kids (Farmers) Market where the sell to parents fresh produce at below market prices. These kids used to hate veggies and preferred chips, doritos, fritos, etc. Now they love kale chips and other veggies. Further, they have improved their science test scores by 100% (35% formerly were proficient and now 74% are). The biggest problem is the parents, many obese and not so willing to change. So my wife introduced a family dinner night at school quarterly to have all families welcome to learn more about healthy eating as well as hear guests speakers. We can't continue to make excuses as to WHY people can't be healthy.