Alabama OKs health care fee for obese

By Adam Wilson | The Olympian • Published August 31, 2008

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Obese state workers in Alabama will pay more for their health insurance, but don't expect something similar in Washington — at least not soon.

The Alabama State Employees' Insurance Board in August approved a plan to charge workers if they don't have free health screenings.

And if the tests reveal health problems such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol or obesity, workers have to improve those marks or face an additional $25-per-month fee starting in 2011.

"It's nothing, certainly, that we have discussed here," said Dave Wasser of Washington's Health Care Authority.

The authority administers health plans for public employees in Washington and has pushed workers here to take Health Risk Assessments, which can reveal the same issues as Alabama's screening.

But the assessments are aggregated for agency leaders so they can target broad health concerns, not address individuals, Wasser said.

"While a healthier work force may have a slight impact on overall health care costs, the bigger savings on a program like this is in productivity. A healthier work force is going to have less sick time and more productive time," he said.

The Washington assessments also are geared toward positive rewards, encouraging people to stay healthy, not charging them more, Wasser said.

"You don't know where you can get healthier until you find out what you need to do," he said.

Alabama already charges workers more for insurance if they smoke tobacco. And it has the third-highest obesity rate in the United States, compared with Washington's 31st ranking by the nonprofit organization Trust for American Health.

"We are trying to get individuals to become more aware of their health," Robert Wagstaff, a member of the Alabama insurance board, told The Associated Press.

"The difference between Alabama and Washington is they have a lot of deep-fried foods down there," joked Tim Welch, spokesman for the Washington Federation of State Employees.

The union maintains a seat on the board that sets benefits policy for state workers, and Welch said basing health insurance prices on things such as body fat wouldn't be fair.

"I just don't think that would work here. There may be folks who are in perfect shape who have health risks. There are people who are large, but that's their genetics, and they're otherwise healthy," Welch said.

Adam Wilson covers state workers and politics for The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-753-1688 or awilson@theolympian.com.