Mandated Universal Health

Anita Epolito used to work for Weyco, but then she got fired. Because she was a smoker. And smokers cost too much to insure.

Analysts have been criticizing Hillary Clinton's health care plan, which would allow those who like their existing employer-supplied health care coverage to keep it. Yet this job-related insurance benefit has resulted in rocketing expenses for the firms that pay for it, so how can Ms. Clinton hope to reduce the high cost of health care insurance by maintaining the status quo?

If the analysts were to connect the dots, they would see just how simple the idea is. Employers have an interest in urging their employees to remain healthy, so that they don't use their health care coverage, thereby keeping the price down. Insurance companies like to take in premiums, and they hate having to pay out on a policy. As long as workers don't get sick and go to the doctor, the insurance company offers a reward in a lower premium payment. The firms buying health insurance have to like that sort of thing.

How to keep costs down? Don't insure the sickly or the drinkers or the smokers or the eaters. So if any such types are working at the company, get rid of them. They're a drag on profits, with their expensive personal habits jacking up insurance rates.

As the unemployed unhealthy masses lose their jobs and their insurance coverage, the Federal government will then pick up the tab, but the mandate to maintain a healthy lifestyle will hold. Quit smoking or you'll have to pay a higher premium. If you can't afford it, then you're out of luck. No health insurance for you. Good luck finding a doctor to treat you when you develop lung cancer. Is that a donut in your hand, you great fat lump of high blood pressure and elevated blood glucose? Lose fifty pounds or you'll never see a doctor again, unless you're wealthy enough to pay for it yourself.

Taking a page from big health care corporations like Clarion Health, everyone will have to face mandated wellness checks. Weigh-ins and cholesterol monitoring will become part and parcel of everyone's job. Surprise urine tests, on the hunt for nicotine or illicit drugs, will become the norm at every job site.

Before long, everyone will have the choice between free living or health care coverage. Submit to routine invasions of personal privacy or come up with the cash to buy your own insurance. Puts a whole new spin on the old "Big Brother is watching you" warning.