All Work and No Exercise…

One of the problems people on the right have with health care is looking as if they’re defending the current system as some sort of pure, perfect marvel. It’s not.  One of the biggest problems that health insurance is currently tied to employment because of the tax breaks employers get on health insurance purchases.  That’s leading to some awkward developments, as reported by U.S. News:

Clarian Health Partners, a large Indianapolis-based healthcare system, earlier this year found itself on the defensive after announcing that starting in 2009, 13,000 employees at five area hospitals would face a surcharge of up to $30 per pay period if they smoked, didn’t fill out a health-risk questionnaire, or fell short of targets for weight, blood sugar, cholesterol, and blood pressure—a $5 penalty for each. Sheriee Ladd, vice president for human resources, says that as a healthcare provider, Clarian wanted to take a leadership role in encouraging healthful behaviors.

Clarian eventually reversed their policy and started offering bonuses rather than penalties.  But when you mix work with health insurance, this is the sort of thing that can end up happening: compensation becomes based not simply on job performance, but on your state of health.

Now, liberal health-care advocates like, say, Ezra Klein might argue that the best way to solve this is put health care in the hands of government.  But that will only lead to the sort of government-sponsored health-nannying we see in Britain, where all sorts of consumptive behaviors are now banned and government ministers deliver ominous warnings to parents about having overweight kids.

Better for people to own their own coverage, negotiate discounts and incentives with their insurance agency rather than mix job performance with personal health or see government agencies telling people how much to exercise or when and what to eat.