Smokers, obese state workers to pay more for health insurance

If you’re a state worker and you’re overweight or you smoke, get ready to pay more for your health insurance.
 
The state spends $2.4 billion a year on medical care for it’s 650,000 employees, and that cost goes up by 8 to 10 percent each year.
   
So, starting next year, employees who smoke will pay about 10 percent more for their health insurance than other workers, unless they enroll in a program to quit smoking. Starting in 2011, state workers who have a body mass index of 40 or higher will also pay 10 percent more than other workers unless they sign up for a program to lose weight.
     
Officials with the State Health Plan say about a third of state workers are overweight.

“Research indicates that smoking, the use of tobacco products, and obesity are two conditions that do result in higher health care costs,“ said Lacey Barnes, with the State Health Plan.
 
The state says it will conduct random checks on people who say they are not smokers. They are still working out how to monitor weight.
   
Meanwhile, the State Employees Association says these changes are humiliating and invasive.