I was a meeting on health care reform in Wilmington, DE, yesterday and U.S. Senator Thomas Carper, a Democrat representing the state, was on hand to tell us what was in store given the new legislation.

There’s so much in the law that bits and pieces have been coming out slowly, but one key part that caught my interest yesterday was discounts for employees who get healthy, up to 30 percent off their insurance premiums, the senator said.

Carper, a trim man who’s often seen jogging around Wilmington, seemed very excited about this provision in reform. If you lose weight, or bring down your blood pressure, he said, you can get a break on your insurance.

But what about the unhealthy workers among us who struggle with weight and medical issues? Is offering breaks on insurance, or financial rewards of any kind, actually a sneaky tax on the fat and unhealthy among us? (more…)