8.28.2008 10:10 AM
Alabama Wants to Tax Fat People
Some Alabama Residents Might Have a New, Costly Reason to Stay Healthy
The third fattest state in the nation apparently intends to change its ranking.
The Alabama state government is posing a challenge to state employees: lose weight or pay a fat tax.
According to the LA Daily News, obese members of the state's 37,527-employee workforce will be charged an extra $25 a month to help pay for their health insurance.
Alabama already charges smokers extra fees. But is it fair to make the portly pay more?
Health.com writer Sean Kelley says: "Being both Southern and fat, I could use an incentive to lose my extra weight. And if I could, so could they. Maybe this kind of program would begin to reverse the tide of obesity in the Deep South. Or maybe a whole bunch of initiatives need trying to find out what will work."
Kelley says the state is giving workers a two-year head start, and they can avoid the fat tax if they sign up for free health screenings and make progress.
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