When Will Gays Pay “their Fair Share”?

By Derrick Hollenbeck 

There is an increasing trend toward higher health insurance rates for those who are overweight and live “unhealthy” lifestyles as defined by insurance companies and employers. As the thinking goes, the obese and others (usually smokers) are automatically viewed as chronically unhealthy and above-average consumers of healthcare services.
Whether this is true for a particular person or not has become irrelevant.  More premium money has to be collected from somewhere, and neither the cowardly insurance companies nor our feckless politically correct corporate leaders will demand higher premiums from homosexuals whose risky lifestyle is well-established as a cause of serious illnesses that are costly to treat.

The ethics of this position be damned – they just don’t have the courage to face the storm that would follow an honest recalibration of insurance rates. They just aren’t interested in practicing the liberals’ favorite pursuit of making everyone “pay his fair share.” That only applies to smokers and the obese who are straight – they’re unable to fight back. Nevertheless, shouldn’t those who consume more healthcare resources be made to contribute more in premiums and “pay their fair share?”
A recent survey of 135 corporate decision makers found that 62% (up from 48% in 2005)  agreed that “unhealthy” workers (including smokers and the obese) should be made to pay higher health insurance premiums.

Walmart makes the smokers among its workforce pay $40.00 a month more for the health care coverage it offers. Since 2009, Clarion Health Partners has charged its employees with high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and/or overweight problems as much as $60.00 a month to meet the costs of health care for them.
The list of companies taking this position goes on and on.  Some employers have started regular on-site weigh-ins to “catch” their overweight workers  and charge them more for healthcare coverage. Despite their very risky behavior, homosexuals are never asked to pay more for their coverage. Others are made to cover the real costs of their doctor visits.
The chronic and acute illnesses male and female homosexuals suffer from are not only more numerous and far more serious, but much more costly as well.