 |
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
||
 |
 |
|
||
|
||||
 |
|
|||
|
||||
|
||||
Risky BehaviorApril 20, 2006 The other day the Boston Globe carried a story that began thus: "Many Massachusetts residents who live healthy lives by exercising and not smoking could enjoy lower insurance premiums under one of several provisions of the landmark new healthcare law designed to discourage risky behavior and help control medical costs." No surprise that the article emphasized smoking and smoking-cessation programs: don't we all know by now that smoking is bad bad bad? But a couple of paragraphs down I read: "The new law also allows private insurers to provide larger discounts for residents who complete weight-loss programs, enroll in exercise classes, and complete other wellness goals." Google has helpfully provided ads that say "Lose 20 Pounds in 3 Weeks" and "Lose 9 lbs every 11 Days." (Quick, boys and girls, get out your calculators. Which one's the best deal: 20 pounds in 3 weeks or 9 pounds in 11 days?) True, I wouldn't recognize a "wellness goal" if one grabbed me round the ankle, but I know trouble when I smell it. One of these days I'm going to be hauled up before the Risky Behavior Reduction Board. The hearing might go something like this . . . RBR Board: You claim you're entitled to the healthy-living discount even though you have no evidence that you've ever enrolled in, never mind completed, a weight-loss program or an exercise class. Don't you realize there are heavy penalties for trying to defraud the insurance companies -- uh, the Commonwealth? Me: I'm not trying to defraud anybody. However, there's more to healthy living than dieting and Aerobics. RBR Board: How much do you weigh? Me: Uh, probably between 150 and 155. RBR Board: You don't know? Me: Nah. I haven't weighed myself in about two years. I don't own a scale.
RBR Board: You don't own a scale?? How can you obsess about your weight if you don't know what it is? Me: Obsessing about weight is a underreported mental disorder that has reached epidemic proportions in this country. There's very little evidence correlating it with good health. I find it's easier to assess my physical, mental, and spiritual health if I don't worry about what I weigh. RBR Board: That is a, uh, highly unusual view, Ms. Sturgis. Me: Hey, it works for me. RBR Board: Ah, uh, yes, I see . . . Well, then, you have never enrolled in an exercise program. Do you belong to a health club? Health club membership does constitute evidence of possessing wellness goals. Me: I don't belong to any health club. They are very expensive, and besides I get plenty of exercise. I even have two pieces of exercise equipment in my apartment. No, make that four: I have four pieces of exercise equipment. Two are in my apartment, one is not in my apartment, and one is in my apartment part of the time. RBR Board: Would you explain, please? Me: I have a balance ball and a Gripmaster -- that's a handy little doohickey to strengthen my left hand for guitar playing. I also have a dog and a horse. Between the four of them I get plenty of exercise. Wait a second -- maybe I should count the guitar? It's a loaner but I play it every day. It's definitely good for my health. Make that five pieces of exercise equipment. RBR Board: Excuse me? Something is fishy here. On your 2005 state tax return you claimed a gross income of $31,000. Me: $31,016, to be precise. RBR Board: And you have a horse? You have a horse, you live on Martha's Vineyard, and you claim you made only $31,000 last year? Have you been audited recently? Me: I'm also supporting an unsold novel and a novel in progress. Perhaps I could offer expense-reduction workshops to members of the Great and General Court? RBR Board: Perhaps it hasn't occurred to you that you could afford health insurance if you didn't have a horse? Me: Hell, I could afford health insurance if I didn't have a car. You know what I paid for gas day before yesterday? $3.269 a gallon! Driving -- now there's a risky behavior. Maybe habitual drivers should have to pay higher insurance premiums? How about higher premiums for everyone who makes a living promoting risky behavior? Oh wow, let's start with the advertising industry -- not only are they selling us cars, they're selling us cigarettes, liquor, and sex. I bet if they paid their fair share, most of the rest of us could be insured for next to nothing.
|
|
|||
|
||||
|
||||
|
||||
 |
|
|||
 |
|
|||
Home - Writing - Editing - About Susanna - Bloggery - Articles - Poems - Contact Copyright ©
Susanna J. Sturgis. All rights reserved. |
||||