llamatron   10 #1 Posted December 11, 2013 Just read this:  http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-25303707  I was thinking we should have discounts on our NHS payments for healthy living. If you eat lots of fruit and veg, exercise every day and generally look after yourself you should pay less than someone that smokes, drinks and sits on their lazy arse increasing their belly size by eating rubbish-why not?  You could have an annual check up where the nurse or other health checker checks your liver, blood pressure, stamina, weight etc and from that information a discount could be applied.  I think it would encourage some people to live healthier lives.  ....Although I also strongly feel that lots of sports should be cheaper! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
psynuk   10 #2 Posted December 11, 2013 your thinking is backwards and wrong. Someone who eats healthy, doesn't smoke or drink and plays sports is likely to cost the NHS far far more than someone who doesn't.  The smokers, drinkers tend to have short length terminal illness that cost the nhs very little, combine that with the fact they pay in substantially more in tax often means they will actually make the nhs money.  Living healthy to a ripe old age often means that those people become a huge burden on the nhs as their problems tend to be treatable and long lasting, meaning they spend many many years in the system before they die costing substantially more. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
llamatron   10 #3 Posted December 11, 2013 your thinking is backwards and wrong. Someone who eats healthy, doesn't smoke or drink and plays sports is likely to cost the NHS far far more than someone who doesn't.  The smokers, drinkers tend to have short length terminal illness that cost the nhs very little, combine that with the fact they pay in substantially more in tax often means they will actually make the nhs money.  Living healthy to a ripe old age often means that those people become a huge burden on the nhs as their problems tend to be treatable and long lasting, meaning they spend many many years in the system before they die costing substantially more.  A) im pretty sure you didnt read the link as it disagrees with you and i do, cancer treatment is expensive, dementia care is expensive and a lifetime of obesity care is expensive.  B) i wasnt claiming that they cost less in nhs care i was simply saying that aiming to be healthy deserves a discount.  People that dont make any effort should subsidise heavily the people that do! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Manlinose   10 #4 Posted December 11, 2013 people that don't make any effort already do subsidise those that do  according to thisismoney.co.uk - if you smoke one pack of 20 fags a day at £7 a pack, you pay tax and duty of £2,132 a year (I have no idea how much a pack of fags costs but £7 sounds about right)  if you drink 20 pints of beer a week at £3 a pint, you pay £994 in tax and duty  so a fairly typical smoker and drinker is paying over £3,000 a year more to the coffers (pun intended) than someone who does neither  that is on top of the other income tax, NIC, VAT, and numerous other taxes they pay Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
llamatron   10 #5 Posted December 11, 2013 people that don't make any effort already do subsidise those that do according to thisismoney.co.uk - if you smoke one pack of 20 fags a day at £7 a pack, you pay tax and duty of £2,132 a year (I have no idea how much a pack of fags costs but £7 sounds about right)  if you drink 20 pints of beer a week at £3 a pint, you pay £994 in tax and duty  so a fairly typical smoker and drinker is paying over £3,000 a year more to the coffers (pun intended) than someone who does neither  that is on top of the other income tax, NIC, VAT, and numerous other taxes they pay  but what about people that eat nothing but chips and do no exercise? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
truman   10 #6 Posted December 11, 2013 but what about people that eat nothing but chips and do no exercise?  How much time and money is spent in A and E on people who have injured themselves while exercising/playing sport etc.? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
L00b   441 #7 Posted December 11, 2013 (edited) <...>If you eat lots of fruit and veg, exercise every day and generally look after yourself you should pay less than someone that smokes, drinks and sits on their lazy arse increasing their belly size by eating rubbish-why not?<...>Stereotyping, much? What about people who do the lot, i.e. eat healthily, exercise every day, generally look after themselves, smoke, drink and sit a lot?  This has nothing to do with "funding the NHS", btw. Savings have to begin within, with management best practice, scale economies and a fair bit of reorganizing and rationalisation, well before looking at user profiles. Focusing on user profiles is just scapegoating/trying to hide the elephant in the room. Edited December 11, 2013 by L00b Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
geared   268 #8 Posted December 11, 2013 (edited) but what about people that eat nothing but chips and do no exercise?  Doesn't the 'pasty' tax cover them, as it's hot food so you pay the VAT (or something like that)  Anyway I talked to a doctor a little while ago about this and somone had done a review on it, IIRC smokers cost the NHS roughly 2-3 billion quid a year, but they bring in about 12 billion a year in tax on fags.  Net profit 9-10 billion quid (although this is money going to the government not the NHS). Edited December 11, 2013 by geared Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
llamatron   10 #9 Posted December 11, 2013 How much time and money is spent in A and E on people who have injured themselves while exercising/playing sport etc.?  Thats totally different, I am talking about people that make good lifestyle choices. A lot of sports require extra insurance if they are high risk anyway. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
geared   268 #10 Posted December 11, 2013 What about people who are disabled, mentally challenged or have a genetic disorder?  Do I receive a discount on my NHS payment (what is that btw) because I don't require any extra support???  We all pay the same so we can support those in need, thats how it works. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
llamatron   10 #11 Posted December 11, 2013 Doesn't the 'pasty' tax cover them, as it's hot food so you pay the VAT (or something like that) Anyway I talked to a doctor a little while ago about this and somone had done a review on it, IIRC smokers cost the NHS roughly 2-3 billion quid a year, but they bring in about 5 billion a year in tax on fags.  Net profit 2-3 billion quid (although this is money going to the government not the NHS).  No the pasty tax is pretty random in what it covers. Also manufacturers spend a lot of time and money getting round these taxes.  My suggestion is to give incentives to people to make good choices rather than to punish people that don't and it is more directed because its based on that persons general health not a particular part of what they spend their money on. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
truman   10 #12 Posted December 11, 2013 Thats totally different, I am talking about people that make good lifestyle choices. A lot of sports require extra insurance if they are high risk anyway.  It's not totally different at all.. it's costing the NHS to treat these people..... which sports can't you do without taking out insurance first? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...