Colorado HB 1160 echoes what might be the only pro-liberty aspect of ObamaCare. (I did not expect any!) The New York Times reports:
Workplace wellness programs are becoming more and more popular as businesses try to rein in runaway health costs. At American Express, for instance, employees are offered a $100 reward just for coming in for a health assessment; the company also provides an array of free support services, including health coaching, maintenance drugs and preventive care. …
Currently, discounts pegged to specific health outcomes cannot exceed 20 percent of an employee’s premiums; the law lifts that cap in 2014, allowing for discounts of 30 percent and possibly up to 50 percent in the cost of individual or family health care premiums. It also calls for applying wellness discounts in the individual market; an initial demonstration project involving 10 states is to be started by July 2014.
Can you believe it, part of HR 3590 removes a restriction! If you read the Times article, you’ll see that people object to wellness programs as unfair. What’s unfair about being able to buy insurance for the lowest price a willing seller will offer? Remember, health care “reform” is all about forcing one group of people to pay for another’s medical care.
Regarding the Colorado Bill, the Denver Post reports:
A proposed state law that allows health insurance discounts for improvements such as losing weight or cutting cholesterol could lead to a system where co-workers with the same coverage pay different premiums based on their health.
Health insurance companies in Colorado are now allowed to reward people for participating in wellness or smoking-cessation programs, but the new legislation takes that a step further. Discounts could come with improved health. …
The legislation, House Bill 1160, would affect small businesses — those with 50 employees or fewer — and people who buy insurance individually. Large companies already can offer such incentive-based discounts under federal law.
Read the whole article: Colo. bill allows insurance discounts for health improvement.
(Denver Post article via Ari Armstrong.)
