NC to Target Smokers, Obese with Higher Health Plan
Costs
October 13, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - North Carolina
is set to become the second state to charge obese workers
more for health insurance, the Charlotte Observer
reports.
Smokers will face higher costs also, as North Carolina
state employees who use tobacco are slated to pay more for
health insurance next year. Tobacco users get placed in a
more expensive insurance plan starting next July and, for
those who qualify as obese, in July 2011, according to the
news report.
North Carolina officials say they are aiming to improve
state workers' health, which saves money in future medical
expenses. While officials have not yet estimated any
potential savings from the obesity requirement, the higher
costs for smokers could save $13 million in the 2010-2011
budget year, Anne Rogers, director of integrated health
management with the N.C. State Employees Health Plan said,
emphasizing that the plan's priority is to improve health
and save money in the process.
North Carolina will allow state workers with a BMI of up
to 40 to keep the discount, although a BMI of 30 is
considered obese by some experts, the news report
explained.
Some state employees are criticizing the planned
changes. The State Employees Association of North Carolina
says the tobacco and obesity differentials are invasive
steps that could have been avoided if the legislature had
fixed the health plan. The plan covers more than 600,000
state employees, retirees and teachers at a total cost last
year of $2.6 billion. Last spring, the legislature bailed
out the plan with an infusion of $250 million to pay the
bills after rising costs and inaccurate projections left
little money for claims. Over the next two years, the state
general fund will pump about $408 million into the health
plan, according to the news report.
Kim Martin, a sergeant at Piedmont Correctional Institution
in Salisbury, called the change "an invasion of privacy."
Alabama was the first state to target obese workers with a
higher cost for healthcare, but it and a number of other
states have already targeted smokers (see
AL Extends Health Care Surcharge to Crack
Down on Obesity
).
Private employers for years have targeted smokers
not only within their health plans, but in some cases, in
their hiring policies as well (see
Whirlpool Workers Lied about Smoking to
Dodge Premium Hike
).
Rebecca Moore
editors@plansponsor.com