Just FYI, when I sent it he said he was busy but might discuss later. Buuuut I haven’t heard a response, might nudge him.
Sounds like it is more of a carrot than a stick. I know we get extra money in our HSA for completing a health survey and at least two prescribed activities such as getting a flu shot, mammogram, prostate exam, colonoscopy, physical, women’s exam, and probably several others.
Insurer reports to the employer which employees / spouses meet the requirements, but not the results or even which two activities they chose. You could be in super crappy health, but if you get a physical and colonoscopy confirming as much and fill out the health survey then you get the money. Conversely you could be in fantastic health and not bother with that stuff and not get the extra.
If they can incentivize a flu shot, I assume that incentivizing a Covid vaccine would fall into the same category. But IANAHA.
this I think. we have had wellness programs (biometrics/ surveys, etc.) that got us discounts. flu shot discount. this is not a stretch for my eyes
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How common is it to not rate on voluntary choices putting you at risk? I know smoking is a common differentiator, and I think(?) even for group health insurance it makes a difference. Seems reasonable.
Well, they don’t rate people for being fat.
I believe being obese does increase your rates, for non-group insurance. I might be wrong but a quick Google (of an area that isn’t my area of expertise) seemed to confirm that. Surely it varies by state regardless.
With health insurance smoking seems to be an outlier in terms of being one of the only things (besides age for an individual policy) that will get you higher premium.
Are Obamacare-compliant policies allowed to rate on obesity???
Now in group insurance you’re allowed to rate on stuff that captures a lot of stuff that’s not explicitly being rated for. Area factor, industry factor, whether or not it’s a union plan, and more are going to capture a lot of that.
So while obesity or age are not directly measured, a group of personal trainers will have a lower industry factor than a group of COBOL programmers.
Even if smoking is not directly taken into account, we’re going to implicitly assume that construction workers have a higher incidence of smoking than oncologists. It’s going to show up in their experience.
Individual plans are only allowed to rate on: location, age, smoking status, plan richness, and number of dependents.
It would be illegal to rate an individual marketplace plan on obesity or other health factors not listed above.
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There are loads of variables that people can control that do increase their health costs. Insurers are not necessarily allowed to rate on them, as noted by people who have direct experience above.
What you’re allowed to rate on is a political decision.
It seems highly unlikely to me that explicit pricing for obesity will be allowed in the U.S. at this point.
Yeah, if you can give people a discount for joining a gym, or having an annual physical, you can charge a surcharge for refusing a vaccine. (Or, maybe it would play out as higher overall prices and a discount for being vaccinated. Same difference.)
Big difference here is what the insurance company can charge, and what your employer can charge you for your portion of the premium. Employers have a lot more leeway than insurance companies on these items.
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Employers still have to deal with various state & federal non-discrimination laws.
In any case, I know many tort lawyers are rubbing their hands over potential class-action lawsuits. I assume some have already been filed, but I haven’t been paying close attention to it.
Thanks, that’s what I thought.