So NC is now the second state to adopt a fat tax for state employees. Employees with a BMI over 35 will be charged $25 extra/mo for insurance (avoidable if they go to a regular check-up, though I’m sure they’d have to pay a deductible for that).

Do you think that this is discriminatory?

They’re also targeting smokers by screening for tobacco use and charging them. Is that an invasion of privacy.

For more, check out this article but please let me know what you think about this.

I personally think these are fair practices, but your question stems from a more fundamental topic: Is healthcare an unconditional right or a privilege for those who take care of themselves?  I don’t think it’s unreasonable to ask individuals with high BMIs to see the doctor once a year; it will help them be more aware and in a better position to manage their health.  While the “tax” is blatantly protecting the state from taking on the risk of additional claims costs, it also serves as an incentive to invest in your health…

I’m not quite sure that I see it as you’ve suggested. How is it protecting the state when no one’s proven that these people with higher BMIs are independently costing the state more money than thinner people?

As Dr. Dianne Budd, Endocrinologist, UCSF Obstetrics & Gynecology, has said, “We cannot tell the state of one’s health by the size of one’s body.”

Indeed, wouldn’t it be good by your logic (and Dr. Budd’s) to require everyone, regardless of BMI, to visit the doctor regularly?

And if I recall, I think it was a once a month requirement to visit the doctor, though upon a second look, the charge is monthly but it doesn’t say how often you have to go to the doctor.

It really just seems to me like the state is in debt and spending way too much money on healthcare (whether it’s a right or a privilege) and looking for a way to make a few extra bucks wherever it can. Fat people is a great place to do that because who’s going to stick up for them?