By rejecting non-essential cookies, Reddit may still use certain cookies to ensure the proper functionality of our platform. As the figure shows, smokers are less likely to buy insurance under any circumstance, an unwise decision given the likelihood that they will incur higher-than-average healthcare expenses. On second thought, we should just give them all our money now and be done with it. HELLO. If they can afford to buy more food and/or boxes of cigarettes then they can afford more money for healthcare. I think people are stressed out with todays world, They have/show no feelings for themselves. Employers cannot discriminate against smokers by asking them to pay more for their insurance unless the surcharge is part of a broader effort to help them quit, said Karen L. Handorf, a lawyer who specializes in employee benefits for Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll in Washington. Or you don't wear a helmet while riding a motorcycle or bicycle? Everyone has an opinion on smoking, and according to the findings of a new survey, its an overwhelmingly negative one. The ACA recognizes the increased costs associated with smoking employees by allowing insurers to raise smokers premiums up to 50 percent over those paid by non-smokers. Instead of punishing people, why not reward them? Rewarding criminals and people who have no will to be responsible for their lives is what is destroying our Country! As a reformed Republican, its not fair. as for fat people, for many, like some of my wife's relatives, it's a medical condition and being charged more for healthcare would be a "double wammy". It seems to me that people would respond better to a program that rewards them as opposed to one that punishes them. RELATED:Sitting is the new smoking. Prior to joining QuinStreet, she reported and edited articles on technology, lifestyle, education and government for magazines, websites and major newspapers, including the New York Daily News. Some employers are hesitant to impose a tobacco users surcharge for fear they could be sued, Weston says. Lower the rates on those that live heathier lifestyles and leave me the heck alone. Yes, I think they should be part of any risk pool their state has. Yes, they should pay more. Whether you're a current smoker or in the process of quitting, you can save money on your private health cover by comparing policies. For one its not any healthier for others that do not smoke with others that smoke around them, What good is paying health insurance, If your health is not on the healthy side. This should have been in effect years ago. then we must determine just what obese means, and to whom. If they quit smoking they save at least the $2190 and their rates will go down, so explain to me why this is bad. Poor people can afford this expensive health hazard luxury? That makes them more expensive, and gives their users more of a reasons to quit. Oh cool! Guess who has to indirectly pick up that tab. we should just make them pay more for their HEALTH care if they end up fat or smoke a pack Education is a better tactic by health care companies. Community rating is there to protect people who, through no fault of their own, through things they cant control like their age, that theyre not penalised, NIB Managing Director Mark Fitzgibbonsaid at the time. Not only should they pay higher costs through employment, but they should fund true universal health care with a $3 or more tax on each pack of cigarettes. Wal-Mart, which insures more than 1 million people, is one such company. Well, it sounds like a good idea but what yard stick would be used to determined to measure fatness or does smoking medical weed count. A person who has been smoking two packs a day for 30 years has a significantly greater chance of developing lung cancer than someone who has been smoking only a few cigarettes a week for a few years. Yes, I think that people who smoke and are obese should pay more in health insurance premiums to offset the increasing costs of their eventual care once they become ill as a result of their unhealthy lifestyle. Somehow, most of us managed to live through it. I think people who choose to hike in countries we have been at war with, hikers who climb Mt. Even if such a law exists, all may not be lost, as some state laws may be preempted by federal law. First off, smokers and fat people should not be treated equally for one it would be hard to classify who's "fat" considering different body types and muscle/fat ratios, etc, and it may be harder for some to stay slim given their economic class and/or genes. On July 1, according . Some Liberal Democrat(s) in Washington stated that it's discriminasting against fat people and smokers, that's why we all have to pay. However, because smokers and obese people die younger than healthy individuals, healthy individuals had the highest lifetime health care expenditures. While it's true that smoking does cost the healthcare system a significant amount of money each year, it's also worth considering the extra taxes smokers are paying. for charging me more for healthcare. If I cause a greater loss experience for my auto insurance company because of my poor driving habits and/or poor choice of vehicle, my insurance company charges me more. Smokers, yes. If we begin to separate people because of diseases, it might begin to punish people with costly diseases which they could not have prevented like Type one diabetes, Parkinson's, most cancers etc. I overheard a pharmaceutical rep entice him with all kinds of freebies to push her drugs. How about smokers and fat people pay for their own health care? Private health insurance for smokers - Do they pay more? 2 out of 3 Australians thinks so. Of course they should pay more. Thoughts? This post is nothing more than to anger people and get ratings. Anyone can get sick or get cancer, have a horrid wreck and we all should have the same rates. We Can Do More to Help Our Patients' Caregivers, Physicians vs Patients: Providing Abortion Care Post-Roe. Compensation may impact where the Sponsors appear on this website (including the order in which they appear). Moreover, if smokers are charged higher rates, then other higher-risk groups should also be charged higher rates, since it would be unfair to single out smokers. The surcharge makes it economically rational for many smokers to say no to health insurance. States, however, can set their own rules to reduce or eliminate that surcharge, and 10 so far have chosen to do so. Nicotine is one of the most addictive substances known to man and counseling a patient to quit smoking is one of the most impactful services a doctor can provide. Hopefully these penalties will get these overindulgent people to quit their bad habits and lead healthier lives thus live longer. smokers and overweight individuals (among many others) require more healthcare services and resources than healthy individuals. Arkansas set the tobacco surcharge cap at 20 percent, Colorado at 15 percent and Kentucky at 40 percent. While the Affordable Care Act ends the era of denying people with pre-existing conditions access to health care, it allows insurance companies to charge tobacco users up to 50% more for their monthly premiums. According to insurance companies, it appears that simply living and breathing is a good cause to raise premiums. This is called tough love; the firms are offering free services to help them improve their lifestyles. All Rights Reserved. Reuters reports a growing number of companies are raising health care costs for so-called unhealthy employees. Some also argue that hiking smokers premiums serves as an incentive for them to kick the habit. For your bank account? Get fat on steroids from their asthama? Taxes do not prohibit people from engaging in behavior, but they can help to ensure that individuals bear the costs of their behavior. Though I still occasionally meet someone who smokes, the behavior has mostly retreated from populations of higher socioeconomic status and has burrowed itself and its destruction in low income families. Hey this reminds me of car insurance. Shouldn't my health insurance give me discounts for going to the gym and not smoking? First. LOL America. If higher insurance premiums gets there attention I am all for it. Image via iStock, long list of serious and often life-threatening health impacts. A health insurance policyholder with a BMI in the obese range pays 22% more in health insurance premiums than a person with a BMI in the normal range. Healing hearts: the power of authentic connection in medicine [PODCAST], How to recognize and stop gaslighting in your relationships, Saying goodbye: the tragic impact of COVID-19 on families, A couples journey with a rare neurodegenerative disorder, The importance of a clear contract with your defense counsel in medical malpractice cases, Finding purpose: How physicians can craft meaningful careers in medicine [PODCAST]. On top of that just tell me how to live my life too. These include, but are not limited to: man buns and beards; whether jam or cream goes first on a scone; the colour of The Dress; and smoking. I am a smoker for 14 years now and my answer to the question is; YES! And I think it was hard for someone like Jackie Chan to find health insurance for his stunt work. Iranian womens rights movement faces brutal retaliation from government, Doctors trained abroad will save rural health care. While we endeavour to provide information that is accurate and up to date, we make no warranties or representations about the accuracy, completeness, reliability or suitability of the information, graphics, products or services offered or contained on the website. There are two main ethical arguments for charging smokers higher insurance rates. Smoking and the lack of eating healthy and maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a choice everyone can make. Besides, if you make obese people a political issue you will lose at the ballot box because most of are obese. Or. Only if drunks & drug addicts will pay more. The same goes for obesity. I have high blood pressure, high cholesterol and I could stand to lose a few pounds. Insurance is collective protection against risk. What is a creepy fact about the human body? Please see our FSG. Health care is a basic human right and that right is not negated by smoking or overeating. (if applicable) for The Wall Street Journal. Since smokers tend to have significantly lower incomes than non-smokers, they could be especially vulnerable to increased health insurance costs. It says smokers consume about 25% more health care services than nonsmokers. So eat less, eat better and your premiums will go down. Starting next year, Wal-Mart will charge employees who smoke higher premiums, along with offering a free program to help them quit. Although my company does not provide anything to assist me with these items, there is plenty of free and low cost assistance on both items. No Jack .That is not a solution.A better idea might be to stop the FDA from allowing food procesors from pouring high fructose corn syrup into everything we eat.First you fed us poison and then you blame us for being poisoned.You want less smokers ?stop all price supports to tobacco producers and cigarette companies.the price wil be out of reach. The penalty for smoking will depend on where you live or work. Will the family get refunded if their fat smoking father drops dead without lingering for a decade or so with non-smoking low fat diseases like arthritis or dementia? The health insurance industry unexpectedly began to support a plan for universal health insurance for American citizens. Yes Yes yes and More more more! This site uses cookies. Do you really think about these questions before you post? Already a member? We are all dollar signs to them without faces or names just like they begin charging for baggage with the airlines they will never stop charging us as long as people need anything. Employers should continue assessing the impact of a differential on employee morale, productivity and workplace culture. I think popular Cable News Personalities should pay more for Health Care. Although most states allow the surcharge to be up to 50 percent, its not happening, she says. Shame on you! Compare Club Australia Pty Ltd (CCA) is a corporate authorised representative (AFS Representative number 001279036) of Alternative Media Pty Ltd (AFS License number 486326). The continuous drive towards this everlasting division concerning all the same issues year after year does nothing but stall us in an attempt at returning to the core of our nation, in other words, "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.". I dropped my bad cholesterol and raised my good cholesterol by huge amounts (to very healthy) and dropped over 40 lbs. Should the middle class continue to pay the taxes for the 1%? These effects arent limited to the person sucking on the cigarette, either exposure to second hand smokeis also problematic. I don't think so. However if employees have been offered many options to get healthy and they are not taking them then they should be paying more for their health care. Founded in 2004 byKevin Pho, MD, KevinMD.com is the webs leading platform where physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, medical students, and patients share their insight and tell their stories. Ive had the privilege of knowing more than a few extraordinarily brilliant people from whose mouths seemed to spill spontaneous gems of polished prose. Are you quitting for your health? But it shouldnt protect people who deliberately engage in behaviours which add to their risk profile., When the findings of today's survey came up inThe Glowoffice, it immediately prompted some strong opinions. However, there is a potential snowball effect that could wind up with young, healthy people paying peanuts, and elderly people being hit with huge bills for health cover. An alternative might be to give those of us non-smokers and who are not obese a discount. That means they have to go to the local charity hospital for treatment for care. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". For individual health plans the kind you buy on your own the Affordable Care Act lets insurance companies charge 50 percent higher premiums for smokers than nonsmokers. Whats a company secret you can share now that you dont What quietly went away without anyone noticing? Yes! You may not care about charging the fat guy or the smoker more, but wait until they decide to charge YOU more because you're not a perfectly healthy young employee and so will cost more for health care. Many Online Journal readers feel strongly that smokers should pay higher insurance premiums than their non-smoking co-workers, and some say penalizing smoking shouldn't stop at health insurance. We should not discourage smokers from getting insurance. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. How about people with traffic tickets or accidents? Just because someone is living large doesn't mean that it is by choice nor unhealthy. "My answer is no they should not pay more, they already pay far more than there share of the tax if they smoke, now if they are overly-fat then it is different as they eat through greed and nothing more. Figure out how much you'll save. Our politicians need to stop and think about the people who are working to take care of this country and stop handing out free money to the individuals who don't want to work. Life insurance premiums are based on your health risk for insurance providers. why are "the poor" smoking anyway? Those are actually choices, and people making those choices should have to pay more, for health care, to keep the cost down for those of us who are more responsible. So we really do see employers going down this road of setting tobacco-users premium differentials.. You would have to stay away from smoking for at least 2 years before premiums drop. When insurance companies price smokers out of their products, we all pay. r/AskReddit is the place to ask and answer thought-provoking questions. Good luck in getting that bit of reality dealt with. Edit: Striking out last sentence because I'm an idiot. If people can't be motivated to change their bad habits on their own, maybe higher health care costs will make them think twice about their choices. Self-efficacy is essential "Analysis shows . In the case of weight gain I'm not so sure that can all be attributed to bad behavior. Hey don't we export cigarettes and fast food franchises Shhhh! These folks just wants to get more money from other. Dont blame it on the sunshine, dont blame it on the moonlight, dont blame it on the good times, blame it on the Economy. By charging smokers higher health insurance rates, insurance companies can make people pay a price for the risks they take. On the Ground, Its More Complicated. Besides they can take the money they save by adopting healthy habits and have more spending money. No need to play big brother by charging people more for health insurance. ABSOLUTELY! A company would spend more than it'd save by attempting such differentiation. When insurance companies price smokers out of their products, we all pay. Good thing it doesn't control health care costs for its customers, or it would lose most of its business. We, AOL, are part of the Yahoo family of brands. Will they ask those with heart attacks, strokes, cancer, in the family history to pay more also, maybe they should ask those who come up with these senseless ideas to pay more just for being stupid. Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. If they reinstated it and jacked the rates for unhealthy people it might do a world of good all around. Here's my question to you: Should smokers and fat people pay more for health care? No. Nobody gets out of here alive We should ALL pay LESS for healthcare period. No because they aren't going to lower the rates for those that aren't overweight and don't smoke..The rates are created for all by taking into consideration the overweight and the smokers..just like they take into consideration the chance of developing cancer.I grew up about the time a cure for polio was discoveredI don't remember the big refund check from the insurance companies when that threat was eliminated.Insurance companies are just looking to take in more bucks but those that aren't a problem will still pay the same high rates. We are delighted that you'd like to resume your subscription. As well as those who are too thin. No. Lord knows this country needs both. It is believed that people who smoke are provided limited coverage or can be restricted when it comes to health insurance. Of course they should pay more. In a way Jack they already do. How about women that keep spitting out babies ? Around 60,000 Australian households were quizzed about health insuranceby One Big Switch. SMoking, excessive drinking, over eating should be the responsiblity of the person who practices these activiites. This means you're less likely to wind up in hospital with a serious disease caused by smoking; in turn, this puts a reduced burden on your wallet. Pepperell, MA. The onus falls on the employer to be very clear [about] what theyre doing.. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Smokers can abstain from smoking if they wish to. Genetic factors can also increase health risks, but genetic discrimination in employment and insurance is illegal in the U.S. and many countries. Ralph- Corpus Christi, Texas. The company dropped it due to lack of interest. Here is a question for you all? Specifically, they shouldnt have to pay to subsidize the healthcare costs of people who choose to smoke. Second, even if charging smokers higher insurance rates encourages them to stop smoking, reducing smoking may not save society any money. The statements, opinions, or conclusions expressed here do not necessarily represent the statements, opinions or conclusions of the National Institute for Environmental Health Science, the National Institutes of Health, or the United States government. For example, a 40-year-old nonsmoking female and a 40-year-old smoking female would pay the same premium for the same policy. Translation: people who don't quit smoking, lose weight or lower their cholesterol. It concerns a team of office workers at a morally questionable company that performs brain surgery on employees to sever the consciousness of their work and personal lives. Should Texas be allowed to secede from the union? It is only fair that those who have negative behavior pay more for their health care. I applaud the fantastic efforts of Michelle Obama in this regard as we strive to make healthier foods and exercise a part of our daily routine for children. How much is that costing us ? *Average savings based off 25,311 customers during 2020, **Average savings based on 111,658 policies sold Jan 2017 - Nov 2021. Fat people, who are smokers, should pay double. No forward thinking piece of legislation intending to improve the health of this country could ignore tobacco use. This is provocatively simplistic, betrays the lack of decency befouling this country, and represents why government can't leave corporations to run health care. Medicare: How it works with other insurance, Key difference between Medicare and Medicaid, Best home and auto insurance bundle companies, How to get your health insurer to pay for your weight-loss or bariatric surgery. YES! Should smokers pay more for health insurance? There are some topics of conversation that never fail to divide a crowd. Another thing to keep in mind: although smoking does not affect your health insurance premiums at the moment, it is possible that the rules could change in future. Smoking clearly impacts health care costs and may legitimately affect premium rates, but are there pitfalls and dangers in imposing premium differentials? Founded in 2010, CCI is the webs premier globalindependentnews source for compliance, ethics, risk and information security. August 24, 2021. If I chose to remain fat by following an unhealthy lifestyle then I should pay the cost for the consequences. upheld hand. Sadly, yes ! Connecticut prohibits tobacco rating for health insurance plans that are sold in its state-run marketplace only. The fact of the matter is that these people are just enablers. Obviously, but the mere mention of it in this country means you must be a communist, because you're taking money from one group and giving it to another.