Letter to the Editor: On Gov. Huntsman

By PAUL L. YOUNG St. George

Editor,
I like Gov. Jon M. Huntsman Jr. He is not mind locked or set in his ways. If he sees a way of improvement, he will look further into the situation.
We have seen this when he moved the state employees to a four day work week. Yes, I am sure he will make adjustments as he is not of that mind set against making changes.
Yes, I think that there will be certain jobs that will have Saturday, Sunday and Monday off so their offices will be open on Fridays, such as the driver’s license, automobile license plates, and etc. But the programs will work. Just needs a little juggling.
Alabama state will begin charging the obese among its 37,000 employees if they do not take advantage of their health care benefits to undergo screenings and improve their health. Alabama State Employees Insurance Board has approved a plan to charge workers who do not comply with the new policy $25 per month beginning in January of 2011, making Alabama the first state to penalize overweight employees.
The fee will go toward their health insurance premiums which are currently paid entirely by the state. The new policy requires workers to undergo free health screenings by January of 2010. If these screenings reveal blood pressure or cholesterol problems or show patients to be obese, those employees have one year to seek treatment for those conditions.
Alabama already charges its state employees who smoke $24 per month to offset the alleged higher costs of those workers health care premiums. When the smoking charges were made, many employees stopped smoking.