Obese state workers in North Carolina to pay more for health insurance

North Carolina is set to become the second state in the country to raise insurance costs for obese state employees; and smokers in both Carolinas will pay higher costs in the coming years.

Smoker Freddy Hall lives in Morganton, North Carolina, and he believes he should pay for it.  “In all eventuality, a man who does things to harm himself is going to be discriminated against eventually when it comes to health care,“ but he hates to see state workers be penalized, saying they have already been hit hard by budget cuts.  Smokers will pay more starting in July 2010.
The extremely obese will pay more in July 2011.

Here are the details, non-smokers or workers with a body mass index (BMI) of less than 40, can take advantage of the 80/20 Standard Plan, verses smokers, or those with a BMI over 40, who will pay thirty percent out of pocket expenses.

The State Employees Association of North Carolina taking a stand against it.  SEANC Communications Specialist Mary Adelaide Bell told News Channel 7, via phone, “We feel like the plans are discriminatory. They are invasive.  They are unnecessary.“
North Carolina State Employees’ Health Plan administrators were not available to speak with us Wednesday, but on their website, they say the idea is to encourage individuals to adopt healthy lifestyles.  State worker Dori Wallace believes it could backfire.  “If everything is more expensive then you may end up having less treatment and wind up, with more serious diseases that end up costing us more in the long run,“ says Wallace.  Employees will be subject to random wellness testing at work, and Wallace worries costs could be a hardship on many workers.  Wallace says, “I think some people their weight is an issue due to other health concerns, and it’s not fair to penalize them for something that’s beyond their control.“

Hall believes it’s fair for him to pay, but he just wants to know where you draw the line.

He says, “It will be skinny people next.“