by no means is this any sort of political post, but i would like to praise my company for a minute for providing excellent health insurance. it seems like all we hear are people complaining about how terribly expensive healthcare is and no one is grateful. even the millions of people in our country who get free health insurance are not grateful (okay i really promise this is not going to be a political post, but james' experiences as an emt and at the hospital are sometimes frustrating to hear). anyway, today i salute you, hr of our company, for doing a fine job helping our employees have affordable insurance.
even though our deductible is fairly high, our work sets aside a geneourous HRA fund every year. this money rolls over if not used in its entirety and is funded solely by our employer. james and i used this money to pay for most of parker's birth expenses and it was a huge blessing.
also, our work rewards people for making healthy lifestyle choices. this is something i am very adamant about and am thankful for as well. in two weeks, our office will undergo a voluntary "screening" that tests cholesterol, blood sugar, bmi/waistline, blood pressure and asks if we are tobacco-users. depending on the scores, we receive a monthly discount for living a healthly lifestyle. it does not hurt the people who are unhealthy, but rewards those who are not as likely to be a big financial health expense to the company. granted there are factors and situations that make it more difficult than others to achieve certain bmi levels or whatnot, but overall, i think there is such a lack of personal responsibility for being healthy and it is encouraging to see rewards for valuing health.
i weigh more than i want to right now. my bmi is probably higher than i want it to be (i haven't had it tested for a while). yet there is no one but myself to blame for my current situation. sometimes i tell myself that if i didn't have a kid i would still be in the same shape i was 3 years ago (and i more than likely would as i love to workout), but at the same time, several of my neighbors go running every morning at 6am and if i was really motivated to lose the 13 pounds i've added since we got married, i would get up early to run. here's to hoping the screening still goes well... :). love yall.
4 comments:
Hey friend! My company, too, has a similar program and I'm really excited to take part. I also am extremely grateful for my health insurance! If not for them, we'd all be in big debt.
And you can calculate your BMI yourself if you want - just google "BMI calculator" and it should come up.
:)
I think that's so great! I don't know if you watch Biggest Loser or not but on Tuesday they mentioned that Arizona spends MILLIONS on obese individuals. It's nice to see a company providing a reward for healthy living.
Also, related to the health insurances, hands down the rudest patients I have had to deal with as well as the customers Tim has had to deal with have been those on free, government healthcare. There is a sense of entitlement that most seem to have and do not even want to give common courtesy a shot when they are receiving free services from a dr's office or a pharmacy. It's a little frustrating to know my husband is paying (through taxes) for the prescriptions he is dispensing and he's getting treated like crap from the people who are receiving their services for free. (I'm not saying all who receive government assistance are rude, but I am saying the ones Tim and I have encountered are ruder than those who have to pay for their services) Ok, I'm done! :-)
Amen. Preach it sister. Though my husband and I are not the shining example of health, we try. We're both around 15-25 lbs overweight, but we've also lost about 50 pounds combined this year...baby steps.
We also have great insurance at a very low cost to us. We are fortunate that Peter works for a great company who truly gives us a lot of choices.
Not to get political myself, but I dream of a day when health insurance isn't tied to your employer and purchasing health insurance will be as competitive as purchasing life, car, home, etc insurance.
Yay for incentives. :)
I won this amazing essay contest with an exercise group that I've been involved with. They chose six of us to compete over 12 weeks to see who can lose the highest % body fat. The best part is that we get 12 weeks of free personal training - an hour a day. Anyway, I'm just starting week 2, and since I know you love biggest loser, I thought you might be interested in our blog. :)
It's http://getfitchallengewithstaceyandvalerie.blogspot.com
Check it out.
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