A hiker on the Pacific Crest Trail has a proposal for the health care industry that would save a fortune for Bay Area hikers, bikers and other outdoor athletes on their health insurance costs.

Just as the banking industry gives you a credit score to assess your financial risk, the health industry should give you a medical score to assess your health risk, she said.

"You would then pay for insurance according to your number," she said. "People who hike or bike, like so many in the Bay Area, who don't smoke, are in good shape and have good genetics would get a very high score.

"Those who smoke, don't exercise, eat wrong and are obese represent high-dollar risks for medical care. They would get a low score and pay more for insurance than the rest of us."

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This comes from a woman who is a self-employed professional (from San Francisco) and pays $650 a month for health insurance with a $5,000 deductible, which she never uses because the deductible is so high and because she is so fit.

"I feel like I'm paying the medical costs of people who don't take care of themselves," she said. "They don't pay a penalty. They have no financial incentive to get their act together."

Her Pacific Crest Trail name is "Magic Carpet Ride." Few hikers use their real name on the 2,663-mile PCT. You can run into people known as "Flyin' Brian," "Tailwinds" and "Ride."

"For me, it's like the trail is a magic carpet ride," she said. "I read once that your feet can be 'The Fountain of Youth.' " I ran into her over the weekend on the trail.

She noted that those who hike a lot develop auxiliary arterial flow. That is where you grow hundreds of tiny arteries to help your heart carry blood and pump oxygen. It's as if those who love to hike or bike give themselves "a natural heart bypass" instead of some day requiring an expensive operation, she said.

"Our lifestyle presents less of a health risk, so we should pay less for health insurance than those whose are high health risks."

