How magnanimous of you. How about drinkers? How about mountain climbers or

sky divers? Let's take that a step further. What about gay males that don't practice abstinence, or at least "safe sex"? What about poor folks that continue to live in high crime neighborhoods in a food desert situation where healthy foods are harder to come by?

See how slippery that slope can get when you try to rationalize regulating/punishing behavior? All of those things entail choices that arguably can lead to higher health care costs than if the opposite choice is made. Are you going to be as magnanimous with those groups too?

I don't mean to interrupt the divisive politics of bashing fatties and smokers in hopes of easing the acceptance of a single payer system, but there's a problem with all our sanctimony:

"It's a common enough argument around the world at the moment, that various unhealthy behaviours increase the costs to health care systems. Thus those unhealthy behaviours should be taxed more heavily so as to pay for the costs to those health care systems. The only problem with the argument is that it is entirely gibbering nonsense, unhealthy behaviours reduce costs to health care systems: if we are to accept the initial logic then we should subsidise them, not tax them."

"Although effective obesity prevention leads to a decrease in costs of obesity-related diseases, this decrease is offset by cost increases due to diseases unrelated to obesity in life-years gained. Obesity prevention may be an important and cost-effective way of improving public health, but it is not a cure for increasing health expenditures."

"The actual numbers for lifetime from 20 years old medical costs were:

The lifetime costs were in Euros:

Healthy: 281,000

Obese: 250,000

Smokers: 220,000"

"But the argument we cannot use is that these behaviours increase the costs of health care.

The reason we cannot use this argument is that it simply isn't true. Those who die young save health care systems money, not cost. Thus, if we really are to accept the argument about taxes and the costs of health care then we should be subsidising puffing, browsing and sluicing."

(In response to this post by 111Balz)

Link: To save healthcare $'s, die faster.

Posted: 10/19/2017 at 2:09PM

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Current Thread:

UK Health Service proposes refusal of surgeries to smokers, obese (link) -- JMHoo 10/19/2017 10:27AM

My Aunt in Ireland was refused Heart Surgery -- ConnHoo 10/19/2017 8:48PM

I love this line from the column you linked -- 111Balz 10/19/2017 10:53AM

One simple step we could take to help alleviate the obesity crisis... -- Joey Wahoo 10/19/2017 3:18PM

How magnanimous of you. How about drinkers? How about mountain climbers or -- Hoodafan 10/19/2017 2:09PM

That is actually an interesting argument from you -- 111Balz 10/19/2017 10:23PM

Telegraph link and text. Where do you see the part about anesthesia? -- JMHoo 10/19/2017 10:59AM

From this - link -- 111Balz 10/19/2017 11:13AM

I had a surgical disaster last year -- NJHoo 10/19/2017 11:19AM

Nm** -- JMHoo 10/19/2017 11:19AM

:>) You weren't quite quick enough! ** -- 111Balz 10/19/2017 11:23AM

Yeah, missed the word "local". : ). Still a crappy policy, as the -- JMHoo 10/19/2017 11:27AM

The British model isn't close to optimal. They haven't figured a way to -- KCHoo 10/19/2017 12:07PM

But it makes for such a good "socialized medicine" straw man. -- WahooRQ 10/19/2017 12:55PM

Need or want? ** -- 111Balz 10/19/2017 11:35AM

We're not talking about cosmetic surgery here. These are surgeries -- JMHoo 10/19/2017 11:57AM

I assume a hip replacement for a 5' 10 man who smokes and weighs 300 lbs -- NJHoo 10/19/2017 1:24PM

Surprised you don't like the free market aspect of it. -- KCHoo 10/19/2017 10:42AM

I do feel sorry for individuals who are unhealthy because they are obese -- NJHoo 10/19/2017 11:12AM

It really does degrade one's quality of life. My mother-in-law -- BocaHoo91 10/19/2017 12:14PM

Like all conservatives he now believes bad behavior should be rewarded. -- HowieT3 10/19/2017 10:57AM

You're kidding yourself if you don't think we would have this sort of -- JMHoo 10/19/2017 11:05AM

There SHOULD be rationing. And you're -- BocaHoo91 10/19/2017 11:46AM

Or choose a private insurer that doesn't have such a policy. ** -- JMHoo 10/19/2017 12:01PM

Agree 100%. Although good luck with the pricing -- BocaHoo91 10/19/2017 12:05PM

You mean pay for ** -- KCHoo 10/19/2017 12:03PM

Well given the impact on EVERYONE's health care costs -- 111Balz 10/19/2017 11:19AM

We have discounts on health insurance premiums here at work based -- KCHoo 10/19/2017 12:03PM

Oooh! I see what you did there!!!!!!! -- HowieT3 10/19/2017 11:32AM

We have it now for Medicaid. Remember the Death Panel stuff? -- HowieT3 10/19/2017 11:17AM

Do the rich fat people and smokers get to opt out of the taxes? ** -- JMHoo 10/19/2017 10:53AM

Why should they be able to do that? Reward for bad behavior? ** -- 111Balz 10/19/2017 10:54AM