Imposing greater penalties on those people who voluntarily indulge in unhealthy activities such as smoking excessive drinking and overeating.

In a slightly socialistic world where the ever lasting cost of health care is a cause fore tremendous concern health insurance policies tend to have a one size fit all approach. This has been and will always be contended. On one hand a healthy individual might argue why he or she should bear the higher cost of benefits just because someone else is at risk whereas an invasion to privacy and typecasting an individual is also not fair. On further thought I would agree with the fact that a penalty must be imposed on a person indulging in unhealthy activities.

Firstly, I would agree enough awareness is there to let an individual understand the demerits of indulging in such dangerously unhealthy activities as smoking and excessive drinking. Its basically akin to flirting with danger possibly even death. one does not need to over-emphasize the effects of these habits. So if someone knowlingly indulges in such habits he is aware of the future diseases he might incur and hence bear the cost for it. The rising cost of health care has reached such alarming proportions so as to become a widely debated issue during the 2008 presidential elections amidst a turbulent economy any step to cut down costs would be widely welcome.

Secondly a car insurance does not let the premiums to stay constant if one meets with an accident. If a person is responsible for rash driving his premiums would increase and more so in a high risk and highly volatile scenario. On the other hand a good driver discount is applicable to those whose driving is commendable and blemish free. So we could draw a parallel and say that a person indulging in healthy diet, exercise and fitness regime should be paying a lower premium akin to a "good driver discount". And to extend this analogy further we could draw a parallel with car insurance costs increasing for those with speeding tickets by saying that knowingly indulging in unhealthy practices need to be penalized.

Thirdly Why should someone who goes out of his way to stay healthy and fit pay a higher premium to compensate the higher health care expenditure that a smoker would incur to the company. This is neither fair nor ethical. Health is very personal issue and the development or destruction of the same is also personal then why should not the cost incurred for the same be personal. Why should I pay for someone Else's follies. The insurance costs are calculated on a certain median basis and that median cost increases in case its found out certain class of people incur a greater expense due to diseases directly afflicted from such addictions. Its not a good faith and practice to pass this on to unsuspecting healthy individuals.

Finally just as with life insurance we have to disclose any illness we might be carrying upfront as these might have an impact on our mortality and thereby the insurance premiums, we should be declaring these practices as these might have an impact on the diseases in future and coverage regarding the same. Any addiction we would be hiding should be treated illegal and if discovered at a later that that a disease or affliction is suffered due to undeclared addictions, the company should have a right to refuse from bearing the cost of the same.

Concluding I would agree that a person voluntarily indulging in potentially fatal activities needs to pay for his follies and not the rest. Maybe the economic burden would act as an incentive to get rid of the addiction. Let me play the devil and state that if a person has enough to blow it up in "smoke" or down it in alcohol he definitely has enough to bear the cost for it.