Fat People and Smokers Actually Save You Money on Health Care
Author: Nick
Category: Money
Topics: health
As our nation stands poised to usher in some sort of health care reform thingy, I can’t help but be reminded of some simple facts:
- Better health care makes people live longer.
- People living longer makes the Earth more crowded.
- The Earth more crowded means even longer lines at the DMV.
So it could be argued that providing health care to people who don’t have it is detrimental to people who do have it. Having grown up on a healthy diet of dystopian sci-fi movies, I was quite looking forward to this problem solving itself, but I guess the unwashed, unhealthy masses have spoken. Fine, poor people, have your fancy doctors and your prescription medications. See if I care.
Okay, so I did care until I found an article from last year that made me change my way of thinking. Apparently those who have lifestyle-inflicted health problems are less taxing on our health care system. Specifically, the article talks about how smokers and those with high-end weight issues (that’s what we’re supposed to call the fatties now, right?) end up costing less money to provide medical care for over the course of their lives versus healthy Joe Lives-to-90. The reason: smokers and the obese die younger and quicker of things like heart attacks and choking on a Big Mac, while the healthy people who stick around longer usually go out slowly due to more costly diseases.
So when your workplace tells you that your health care costs are going up because of people who can’t lay off the cancer sticks and Krispy Kremes, you can let them know that those who choose to indulge in more reckless dietary and, uh, smoketary habits are actually saving you and your company big bucks. And then they roll up those big bucks and try to smoke them or eat them because they’re fatty fat smokeheads.
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12 Responses »
1.
Stephanie PTY
August 18th, 2009 at 9:58 am
A dozen surgeries at only $800,000? I’ll take TWO dozen! To go!
2.
Pinky
August 19th, 2009 at 4:21 am
As bad as it sounds that article may be right. In my opinion now you can buy health, but it will cost you a lot of money… unfortunately
3.
Samuel Kline
August 19th, 2009 at 9:44 pm
True. The whole population control thing is based on the same premise: less people, more resources to enjoy. IF so then things like cigarettes and fast food were made to reduce the population.
Oh and I once heard a rumor on an asian country. Apparently, bus drivers would try to kill a pedestrian if ever he bumped him/her accidentally. They want them dead since it is more expensive to pay the person damages month after month, until he/she lives.
4.
Tax the Fat!
August 24th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
I’m all for taxing the Fat. American people are becoming fatter and fatter. When I was a kid, it was rare to have a fat kid in class. Now, as my children enter elementary school, MOST of the kids are on the heavy side. They tax our health care system so therefore they should be singled out and taxed. The rich are singled out and taxed. The smokers are singled out and taxed…..WHY NOT THE FAT??????
Maybe then they will get off their big butts and loose weight and become a productive member of society!
5.
Greg McFarlane
September 13th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
This is why infanticide is the answer. Better to smother them in their cribs before they start gobbling up their share of resources.
Wow. I always hated children, now I have an airtight justification.
6.
Chelle
September 29th, 2009 at 11:31 am
Wow, who’da thought that smokers could be saving money? Geez, its about time those smokers get credit for something.
In my state they recently passed a law now that the insane sum of taxes on cigarettes is going toward providing free healthcare for children. Not sure what I think of that, but its another way that smokers are doing their part.
7.
Rob W
November 2nd, 2009 at 4:39 pm
Where did you go????
8.
rocketc
January 8th, 2010 at 2:28 pm
This article is actually true – at least with smokers – they die sooner and are less likely to “hang around”.
9.
dean martin
January 20th, 2010 at 4:52 am
I agree to Nick. Yeah, smokers and obese people die younger than those are not. hard to accept the fact but many people really die for unhealthy lifestyle. So sad my dad belong to them. Thanks for this wake-up-call article.
dean martin dvd
10.
BRB
January 26th, 2010 at 5:37 pm
We demand more content and funniness!!!!
11.
belly ring
February 8th, 2010 at 8:15 pm
saaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaad but true.
12.
Dr Hanookai
February 9th, 2010 at 9:52 am
Yeah, smokers and obese people die younger than those are not. hard to accept the fact but many people really die for unhealthy lifestyle. So sad my dad belong to them.
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