I may have a career in Human Resources, but you’ll never catch me engaged in a pleasurable discussion about health benefits. There’s just a lot about the topic that annoys me, and I like to avoid thinking about and talking about things that annoy me. So what am I doing in this post? I’m going there. No workout today, so I guess I’ll get my heartrate up this way instead. How healthy…
Today I came across this article that talks about loopholes in coverage when people engage in “high risk” activities like, say, cycling or trail running. God forbid. You know they say more and more people are engaging in “extreme sports” these days. Who’s defining extreme? Or high risk? According to the article, “high risk” in comparison to “traditional sports.” What? Traditional sports like high-speed ball-hurtling sports like baseball? Or how about football, the traditional “break the other guys’ bones to get a hold of the pigskin” passtime? Those are SO safe and the health benefits of participation wildly outweigh the chance for trauma. I’m so sure.
I’ve heard about this before and my blood boiled on the topic then too. This was when I went self-employed to match my husband’s work status and we set about finding suitable health insurance coverage that wasn’t rendered pointless by swiss-cheesing it with exclusions and then charging extra for the pleasure.
Some of these high-risk activities that they mention sound pretty dangerous and exactly the type of thing I avoid because I don’t particularly view myself as high on the thrill-seeker chart. If you knew how many years it took me to learn how to descend a bike comfortably over 30 mph, you would agree. I’m a weenie and I tend to avoid doing things that look like they have a high probably of death. You won’t catch me out there sky-diving, bungee jumping or even standing very close to the edge of a drop-off. It’s just not me. Yet, there I am riding bikes and running on trails. I’m a wild one, I am.
My opinion? Charge those that don’t exercise a couch premium instead of punish those that actually get out there and improve their health by engaging in endurance sports. And to that Jurgen Ankenbrand guy with his uninformed ride-the-fence comment on the article? Oh….I could just chase him and make him run. In the woods. That’ll learn him.
Bah humbug. Benefits vent over.
I read your blog often, but just have to respond on this one. This stuff just burns me up. About 5 years ago I worked for another company and the insurance rep came knockin on the door wanting to sell me “Supplental” and every type of add on you can think of. I basically ask him, why it is I have to first buy regular insurance expecting to be covered, only to find out “usually after the fact” that I am not covered and now he expects or wants me to buy even more to “suppplement ” what may not be covered? I ask him, when he buys a car if he expects it to have wheels and an engine and what he would say if “after the fact” he learned his car had neither and had to buy a “supplemental package” to get those items. Needless to say he did not like me too much! But that is fine, the feeling was mutual! by the way he drove up in a Jaguar – NO JOKE!
This is an interesting article related to this blog post – http://cbs2chicago.com/northwestindianabureau/local_story_182183221.html