If it takes special equipment and extra effort and staff, I agree that severely obese patients should be charged more. And they should pay, not the insurance companies.

It makes sense to me. It's not as though being this fat is a condition that just springs up on anyone, so it's fair that if someone chooses to let themselves become this gigantic that they have to pay the consequence.

I don't think this is discrimination, as it's not like anyone will wake up one morning and weigh several hundred kilos and then be subject to extra fees.

And hey, if this is just one more incentive for these fatties to get off their asses and loose a few pounds, including seeking medical help for an eating disorder if it's necessary, then I think it's great.

In a minority of cases it isn't their fault. It's a true minority though just as it's not someone's fault if they have heart disease which is hereditary and not brought on by too many fatty foods.

For the overwhelming majority of obese people, I can also agree that additional labor involves additional fees. It's not like they are refusing to transport, they are simply saying that it takes more people (equipment) and that they refuse to bear the cost of it FOR you anymore.

I can't agree with this.
And I don't understand everyone up here is agreeing with this either.

I do agree that 99.99999% of obese people stick too much food in their mouths, so they've got themselves to "blame". But I also bet the same amount of people didn't consciously CHOOSE to be obese.
Charging them extra feels like "rubbing it in" that society is looking down on obesity, and god knows that only creates more unhappy people, it doesn't get you one less obese person.

So yeah, I say it's a stupid rule, a bit of compassion wouldn't hurt.

Do the grocery stores charge them less because of compassion?

Do the airlines charge them less when they use an extra seat?

Do their doctors charge them less because they should be showing compassion?

No. They charge them for the services they use. These people aren't being charged more 'just because they're big'. They're being charged more because the staff has to DO more.

Put another way, if I take two people to transport me. The cost of transport reflects the two people's salaries. If these people take Three people to transport them, why should they only have to pay for two? That means they're being charged LESS per staff member needed than I am.

yes, I know...that's what I meant with compassion.
Compassion doesn't come for free, but it will make your heart a better place.

At my old job, we received a lot of complaints that our XL-XXXL size clothing was more expensive than our standard sizes. There were accusations of charging a "fat tax" and discrimination against larger sized people.

The simple reason is because an XXL takes a lot more fabric to make than a medium. It's like complaining because your 14 oz steak costs more than your friend's 10oz steak. Yeah, you're both eating steak, but one of you is consuming more of it.

There are two choices. Either those who require addition equipment/ people can be charged more based on what each person requires, or they can just charge everyone a higher price to recoup the additional cost... like they do with indigent hospital visits.

I go with the charge per service side of things. Compassion is great and all, but I think people should pay for what they use.

Rubbing it in? As opposed to working around it and saying that it's ok to use up so many more resources, in every way, than a human needs to?

I'm sorry, but really?

That sounds more like enabling. Killing them with kindness. Obese people need HELP...But they don't need to be pandered to.

And for the record, according to BMI, I count as obese. I'm working on it, and I've managed to take an entire point off my BMI. It's my own damned fault I'm fat, and I don't think everyone else should pick up the cost for me.

You know, obesity is a health problem, too. It's not ok to be obese. For other discrimination cases where complaints are legit, this cannot be said. But, it is not ok to be obese (clinical term). It creates additional health issues that can ultimately kill you, and puts extra burden on the health system anyway.

In the US the trouble with fixing society's problems is that discriminating against people who have problems is a problem.

For example, you can't tell fat people not to be fat because that's offensive. You can't tell mentally handicapped people not to have children because that's discrimination. Instead we give them a steady income without requiring a contribution to society.

So the natural process of the strongest surviving is effectively usurped and inferior genes are passed on until there's nothing left but fat ugly mentally retarded people, because that's politically correct.

It hasn't happened yet but we're slowly creeping toward it.

If you haven't seen Idiocracy, it's fairly relevant.

Fat people know fatty shirts are more expensive. They're just trying to game the system. They've been buying fatty shirts all their lives.

1 issue with this...

Small takes less than Med
Med takes less than Large
Large takes less than an XL.

Yet all 4 sizes cost the exact same amount. Now all of a sudden we have XXL and it gets charged an extra dollar (or more)?!?! That, in my opinion, is BS. That IS taxing the fat.

If you wanna charge more because more material is used, than so be it. However, start charging the other sizes the same way too.

There is a significant difference in how much fabric is used between a small and a 2XL. Go look at clothing patterns sometime. Add in that they don't sell NEARLY as many 2XL as they do mediums, there's another cost (changing over the equipment, etc).

Tall sizes are the same way, and I'm just pleased as punch to pay the additional cost because at least they're available! $4 more, but fashions that I like and are current and fit? Hell yeah!

At least an overweight person can diet to fit into smaller sizes. 6'1 is 6'1 no matter what, I'll never be able to wear 'regular' size clothing.

I was going to point out the same thing.

Also, for all of you saying it is ok to charge more for the extra equipment or service an obese person might need, do you say the same thing for others with conditions that make it more difficult for them to transport? My friend's daughter has MS and is confined to a wheel chair. Should they charge more for transporting her chair and all the needed equipment she constantly needs with her? How about a paranoid schizophrenic who is having a violent outburst? What about a belligerent drunk that takes extra people to control and restrain? My grandma had to call emergency service constantly in her latter years but mostly for non life threatening things. Should the local emergency dept have charged her more because of the constant drain on resources she was, or given her a frequent customer discount? Why not? We are equating peoples need for emergency care to the normal rules of doing business arent we?

But since its always a fat persons fault that they are that way then of course charge them more by all means. But the problem with that is if you make a statement that all fat people choose to be that way you're just showing how ignorant you are of the subject.

There is a huge difference in fabric between a XS or even small and an XL. I know because I'm related to a seamstress who makes most of her immediate family's clothes. There is a much bigger difference between an XS and a XL than there is between an XL and an XXL. So why doesnt the XS get a discount?

People weighing in excess of 350 lbs. are more than obese. This isn't just about people who weigh a little more; this is pushing the extremes.

While I see the arguments regarding reasons not to charge extra, I think in these cases it is reasonable. Few people will use these services, and, if the individual were receiving regular medical care, they know they desperately need to reduce their weight. At that point, the responsibility shifts from "it might be a good idea to..." to "you will die if you don't."

I remember a story about a 600-700 lb. woman who was suing a hospital because she had to be weighed (or operated on, can't remember) on equipment meant for horses. She was too heavy for the conventional machines, and would break the tables if they tried it. So she was embarrassed, and sued. How is that reasonable? They were trying to help her, but she took it as a personal slight that they didn't buy a new machine just for her.
People should be helped...but in the extremes, sometimes we have to acknowledge that costs more.

OK, I'm classified as obese, I weigh 250 lbs. But its not because I overeat or I eat a lot of unhealthy food. I eat healthy food, I do yoga, I'm a former martial artist, and yet I've been a big girl all my life. So because I can't get my happy ass down to a size 0, in a medical emergency I'm going to get charged extra or gods forbid my family.



I'm sorry this s**t pisses me off. Its the same with the airlines too. My hips flare out, so do a lot of women who are smaller then me, but because we can't fit into a seat made for someone with no f**king hips we have to pay for 2 f**king seats.



What the f**k happened to hospitals being there because they're supposed to HELP people, not hinder them? This is going to cause a lot of issues mainly because larger people aren't going to call 911 for help because they can't afford the extra fees with the ambulance ride.



So they're going to try to drive themselves or have someone else drive them and not only does this lose them precious time but it also puts others lives at risk because gods forbid they get into an accident on their way to a hospital and then an ambulance is still going to need to be called and the fees are still going to be tacked on and all because the person couldn't call 911 in the first place because of said f**king fees and then people are going to sue said person for 'negligence' all because they couldn't afford to call 911 for an ambulance and then if the person survived the crash they now not only have to pay for the ambulance fees but also pay for damages caused by their accident that they had to drive themselves to the hospital to begin with because they couldn't afford the f**king ambulance fees.



/rant

I can understand why you dislike the issue regarding medicine, because there are many issues that might make it hard for one particular individual to get to ER, but plane seats?
Those things are designed to fit an average individual, and do. It would be silly to design all the seats for the obese. It would also be silly just to design them for those who are anorexic. They are not made to cater to individuals, they are made to cater to their average customer. If you take 2 seats you are costing them extra money, that is just how it is. the seats are not all that small, by any stretch.

How you like to sit scrunched in your seat because someone else is taking all your space for 7hrs? Seriously? I think we should all be kind to those who are struggling with weight issues, but you cannot demand that people cater to you like that when it costs them money and business (should they choose to seat two large individuals together)

Exactly, it's about pushing extremes.

That's the reason I'm not insured for health care when travelling if I rock climb or sky dive - it's super high risk compared to normal and if these choices leave me with a buttload of expenses, it's my own damn fault. I think it's fair to assume making life choices that leave me extremely fat should render me with the same sort of fees.

The average person should't be burdened with these extra costs.

Though, ultimately, I think there's something quite broken if anyone has to pay for normal medical expenses, or even the extra ones if someone's really, really, really unhealthy.