Here we go again! Tell you what, if that happens, I'm getting into the health club biz! Just think, GUARANTEED revenue, no courting for new members, and no more concern about competition from publicly funded gyms (military bases). Get real, folks! My insurance premiums (all kinds) are already high enough. Yeah, I know that many will say that going to the gym will reduce health claims due to everybody getting in better shape. PROBLEM: Just like all health clubs, after the first month or two, when the novelty of it all wears off, 80% will stop going! Why do you think most gyms are constantly prospecting for new members? It's because many of those same people are giving up their memberships. They sign up for a year, go for two or three months, start slacking off, then drop the whole thing entirely after the mandatory year! What a boom this would be for health clubs! The insurance industry pays the bills, we go to work out (if and when we feel like it), and if we stop going entirely, we still get to keep the membership, because we're not paying for it.
How's this for an alternative? Let me pay for my own health club membership, and as long as I get a clean bill of health on my yearly physicals, use the two together to give me a discount on my health insurance premiums. Yeah, I know the whole concept of insurance is "spreading the risk" among many to make coverage affordable, but many of those same insurance companies give BIG discounts for life insurance policyholders who are healthy and don't smoke, so why not the same for health insurance? Anytime you "give" a benefit to some, it never works as well in the long run as a benefit that's "earned". Think about it!
How's this for an alternative? Let me pay for my own health club membership, and as long as I get a clean bill of health on my yearly physicals, use the two together to give me a discount on my health insurance premiums. Yeah, I know the whole concept of insurance is "spreading the risk" among many to make coverage affordable, but many of those same insurance companies give BIG discounts for life insurance policyholders who are healthy and don't smoke, so why not the same for health insurance? Anytime you "give" a benefit to some, it never works as well in the long run as a benefit that's "earned". Think about it!
Willie, I see your point. There are some jobs that require you to be physically fit. Fire Fighter, Police Officer, military folks who could be called up at any time. What I meant to add to my sentence is when it is part of your job. But of course, it would cause a stink to give to certain ones and not others.
