Jump to full article: Chicago Tribune, 2008-05-08
Intro: Yesterday, two colleagues were discussing the Tribune’s recent change of heart over charging smokers more for their health insurance.
That policy was instituted as of the first of the year, but under the leadership of new Tribune owner Sam Zell it’s been retracted.
Bad idea, argued my male colleague, who sits just a few cubicles over. Smoking is the single biggest preventable cause of illness and death. Anything you can do to stop it is good, including giving people financial incentives to quit.
Let the company penalize workers for their personal habits and you’ve started down a slippery slope, argued my female colleague . . .
This informal late-afternoon discussion reflects an important debate going on across the country. Are we all in the same boat together when it comes to health insurance – do we share risk and responsibility for each other when we become ill – or should we stand on our own? In turn, this mirrors a larger social debate about what it means to be part of a community and how that meshes with individual freedom.
Which of my colleagues' positions makes sense to you and where do you stand?
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