Returning to a recent theme...

[wshaffer]

I was pretty boggled by this post on Shakesville about a health insurance plan that makes enrollees with BMIs over 30 either accept substandard coverage or enroll in a "weight management plan", which boils down to: go to Weight Watchers or wear a pedometer and take a certain minimum number of steps per 3 month period.

I went and did a search for the health plan site, and, of course, they spin it all as providing incentives for healthy behavior and allowing people to qualify for "enhanced coverage." Which did give me a moment's pause, because, hey, I love the idea of incentives for healthy behaviors.

Except, whoops, a BMI is not a behavior. Why not give everyone rewards for wearing a pedometer or eating their veggies?

Also, while incentives are cool, materially impacting people's ability to afford basic healthcare is not so cool. Even if you smoke and live on Ding Dongs and whiskey, I want you to be able to afford to go to the doctor.

Comments

[retsuko.livejournal.com]

Why not give everyone rewards for wearing a pedometer or eating their veggies?

Because that would make sense. After years of depressing dealings with Health Insurance, I have come to realize that the entire system, no matter what the company, is founded on the idea that nothing should make any sense. :(

ETA: Also, how many steps do they require, exactly? How does it measure up against the average person on an average day?

[wshaffer.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's really about cutting costs, and about doing so in the most clumsy and crude way possible, because doing it thoughtfully would be work.

The program requires an average of 5,000 steps per day, which according to this site (http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=120555) is just about average for American adults. I experimented for a while with wearing a pedometer to get an idea of my overall activity levels. I typically averaged 8,000 to 12,000 steps a day, but I live in a very walkable neighborhood, and was generally doing about 5,000 to 7,000 steps of deliberate exercise most days.

[retsuko.livejournal.com]

They just want people to do the average? How does that help to lose weight? (I mean, if someone's average had been 3,000 previously, and he/she upped it to 5,000, that would be good, but I suspect that most people are already doing the 5K, unbeknownst to them.) Oh, wait: the nonsense thing. @_@;;

[wshaffer.livejournal.com]

I suspect that the reasoning (if any) is something like, "Well, these people are fat, so clearly they must be doing less than the average amount of physical activity." Demonstrating the flaws in this argument is left as an exercise for the reader.