Health Care Reform Fitness News Brief - The "Wellness Provision"

Health care Reform over the last month has given the newspapers a lot to write about regarding the changes that the Obama administration are trying to institute in the Health Care Bill. Health Reform is on the outside scope of review from the newsfitness.com team however some of the issues that are being debated do relate to the general fitness of the population. With the well documented statistics of the Health Issues in the US regarding the growing obesity rates and other lifestyle problems, I would assume that an increase in the uptake of physical fitness and the partaking of healthy lifestyle choices can only be a good thing. Or is it? Here are some of the issues that intrigued me around these sensitive issues.

From an article by the ABC news regarding the “Wellness Provision” where the US Senate were proposing to include incentives designed to encourage healthy lifestyles. Upon reading this I thought to myself that is smart. Health Care Insurance premiums should be dearer for people who are more prone to utilize the overburdened health system. A sort of, user pays system where if you are making unhealthy decisions in your life that you will in the future be required to utilize the service and should in turn pay for this.

Then as I read further through the news item I found that there were advocacy lobby groups who were opposing the changes based on a fact that the fundamental goal of healthcare reform is for “the creation of a system in which no one can be charged more based on their health status.” Under the existing Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, group health insurance plans can't discriminate based on an individual's health status by varying insurance premiums.

That is the crux of the matter from the advocacy groups. The insurance companies with the new bill will be able to discount companies based on the health or wellness of their staff up to 30% off (up to 50% with government approval) of the premiums. Therefore the staff members who don’t meet the new metric which by the way I can’t find what this actually is, will force the employer to pay more for health cover. At this point I could now understand why representative from the American Heart Association and other groups including AARP, American Diabetes Association, and the National Disability Rights Network have jumped on the change the Healthcare Bill bandwagon.

Sue Nelson, vice president for federal advocacy of the American Heart Association (AHA) then added "This is not workplace wellness, this is cost-shifting," as healthcare costs would likely move from healthy employees to sick employees, and from employers to employees. So to summarize a sick person who utilizes the Health care system would pay more than a healthy person who wouldn’t. That would be consistent with auto insurance as it is dearer (as a percentage of the car value) for an older car that is likely to have an accident then a newer car that isn’t.  

The next quote that I found was interesting was that Advocates say it's unfair to expect the same level of exercise and diet from a law school graduate who has a gym in his condo and a single mother who works two jobs, who can't afford a gym membership, and lives in an area with a limited supply of healthy foods. This statement assumes that the level of success for the “wellness program” has been decided. If the level set for the wellness is at the level of an athlete then the point is merited. However I would assume that the level is not that high and simple daily exercise of 30 minutes a day with the replacement of 2 – 3 meals a week for a healthier option with a timeframe for implementation of the program would be sufficient for all to partake in these benefits.

The Health care costs for the US are over 3 trillion and increasing. People who start making healthier choices will become fitter, stronger and more able to contribute to society for a longer period. Therefore they will have a longer working life and pay a greater amount of taxes. These taxes will support the health care of tomorrow. How equal is that for those that make the healthier choice today?

People always say to me that they can’t find the time for including health and fitness into their week. My response is always if you can’t find time today to live a healthier life then you are going to have to find time in the future to be sick. Then we all will be paying for that.