should smokers pay more for health insurance debate

Whats a company secret you can share now that you dont What quietly went away without anyone noticing? There is always a reason but there is never an excuse for bad health. Hate to be a bearer of bad tidings, but you have to put yourself in their shoes. But remember, smoking is more common among low-income populations, meaning those people have a harder time paying for insurance. Whether it's one day, one month, or one year, it's a cause for celebration. Where are the numbers to support that lifestyle behaviors are significant costs. Some Liberal Democrat(s) in Washington stated that it's discriminasting against fat people and smokers, that's why we all have to pay. You may cancel your subscription at anytime by calling Generally speaking, healthcare costs are higher for smokers, and they often have higher rates of absences. In the whole debate about rising health care costs we have been avoiding the issue of personal responsibility yes people who make an effort to live a healthy life should be rewarded with lower insurace premiums. Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors. Yes, and those with alcohol related diseases. I Jack gain weight if I try to live on 500, 1000, or even 1500 calories a day. I believe that working people wether smokers, fat, or just plain ill, should NOT be charged more for health insurance, while individuals that do not work at all get 100% coverage. Jack.you've just described 50% of America !!! Smokers should pay for their own health costs. Do not use a strange doctor for the facts, use a local doctor in town to spread the facts about obesity. Yes. Yes, they should. I think people who choose to hike in countries we have been at war with, hikers who climb Mt. Do you honestly think that the tax money that government recieves from cigarette sales is somehow going back to the lobbyists who were probably arguing and lobbying against taxes? Health care? It's a habit that's known to have a detrimental impact on your health. Then why shouldn't healthcare be based on fitness level? A massive wave of Covid infections has begun now that China has ended much of its zero Covid policy. No need to play big brother by charging people more for health insurance. Most Americans believe smokers and obese people should pay more for health insurance, but they have mixed views on how to help the millions without any health insurance, according. Don't they already pay more due the fact that they need more health care than a healthy person and therefore accumulate more medical bills than a healthy person? 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. After all, those type of people are much more likely to run up high doctor bills. Sure, as well as people with over active tyroids, and underactive thyroids, and those with ADHD, and those on high blood pressure medicine, and anyone with a pre-existing condition including acne, as some insurance companies rate it. States, however, can set their own rules to reduce or eliminate that surcharge, and 10 so far have chosen to do so. Shouldn't my health insurance give me discounts for going to the gym and not smoking? Though smoking is often seen as an adult issue, we should continue to support the many excellent anti-smoking campaigns and participate in research that helps us understand how to encourage adolescents that have started smoking to kick some butt. This guide is opinion only and should not be taken as medical or financial advice. Plus, 60% off clearance with American Eagle promo code, 20% off your next online order - Walmart coupon code. The basic concept of insurance is to spread risk. This surcharge is also known as tobacco rating, and states may opt out or . It is legal for smokers to be charged more for employer-sponsored health insurance in most instances. And where would you draw the line and how would you adjust rates? Survey: Bullying on the Rise; Gen Z Least Likely to Report Misconduct, Study: Majority of Big Canadian Companies Tie Executive Compensation to ESG Metrics, Toxic Environment: When Workplace Behavior Is Problematic But Not Illegal, A Prescriptive Guide to Third-Party Risk Management, Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). Australia: We saved our average customer $320* on their average annual premium! Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Yes Yes yes and More more more! The ABS found that smoking causes 80% of lung cancer deaths and 20% of overall cancer deaths. Around 60,000 Australian households were quizzed about health insuranceby One Big Switch. Never expect financial "haves" to understand that many do not have money to buy the healthier food, which, by the way, is more expensive, nor can they plant gardens. Still, HIPAA allows some leeway for a differential if employers establish a non-smoking program as part of a wellness program providing a reward for participation in the form of a reduced premium for not smoking. Information about your device and internet connection, like your IP address, Browsing and search activity while using Yahoo websites and apps. Or a family history of colon cancer? Opinions expressed by Forbes Contributors are their own. Since smokers tend to have significantly lower incomes than non-smokers, they could be especially vulnerable to increased health insurance costs. 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. It's just that simple. But I am willing to compromise. It is a shame what american society has come to with everyone making an excuse for overweight people. Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features. If smoking will not be banned, then double its price. What are they planning for the medicaid system, smokers and fat individuals that receive public assistance and free insurance. More importantly, for the purposes of this post, when surcharges arose in 2014, there was a pretty steep decline in the percent of smokers who purchased insurance. 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. Yes. However, this smoking surcharge makes the crucial assumption that continuing to smoke is a choice. If you are in a dangerous occupation either you or your employer gets a larger bill. The under-25s are least likely to support the principle of solidarity in healthcare, with almost half saying leading an unhealthy lifestyle is grounds for higher health insurance premiums. The reason for the move has come because companies are saying smokers cost them more money in medical costs and so the extra cost is just being passed down. After all, like the commercial states, who doesn't want 50% more cash! The slippery slope of legal assisted suicide and euthanasia. cy from arlington, va. People have known for years that smoking causes a variety of health problems and, especially if these companies are offering programs to assist in quitting, there is no reason nowadays to still be partaking. I feel sorry for my fellow citizens who are not able to fight the system or extract themselves from it. To avoid this unfortunate outcome, rate increases should be kept low enough that they do not lead smokers to forego health insurance. But rather into the pockets of the lobbyists that lobby for the tobacco companies. I don't like the idea of making anyone pay more (people pay enough as it is), I think discounts for good behavior would be appropriate. These people should be paying more money for health insurance. Non-smokers in particular think that smokers should pay higher health insurance premiums: 65 percent of non-smokers expressed this opinion, compared with 38 percent of people who smoke only occasionally and 18 percent of those who smoke daily. We're both fat, and we both smoke. Welcome to CCI. No you see the importance of everyone being required to have insurance, be it public or private. Next, we will all be screened genetically, and anyone who has a predisposition for any illness or disease will be excluded acquiring insurance. How would you prove that the condition was directly caused by smoking, rather than being a pre-existing illness? So instead, companies are now going to start making these employees pay more. And also the health care system could be smokers already pay more in excise taxes than the social costs of their habits. One recent survey shows the use of penalties is expected to climb next year to include almost 40% of large and medium-sized companies. In the case of weight gain I'm not so sure that can all be attributed to bad behavior. Some view them as equivalents of nicotine chewing gum or nicotine skin patches, and others see the product as another form of tobacco use, as life insurers do. Good luck in getting that bit of reality dealt with. Four-fifths of states follow that protocol, though most employer-based . Differential premiums determined by health habits is currently prohibited in Australia, as its considered discriminatory. Calories in minus calories burned should equal zero. Rewarding criminals and people who have no will to be responsible for their lives is what is destroying our Country! "These things in no way compare to the unnecessarily harmful effects of smoking on both the people smoking and the people around them who are also forced to suck up their toxic fumes," colleague #1 responds. yes. I've given enough money for their addictively engineered products. Iam a fat smoker and I say no. With nearly 16 percent of Americans now uninsured, the rate has been rising for years as prices for prescription drugs and hospital care have escalated. That's their problem! Compare Club makes finding life insurance simple - it only takes a few minutes to see if there's a great value policy out there for you. At some point it would become like auto insurance where your rates go up every time you make a claim. Hehas extensive experience in litigation training for attorneys and has had more than 400 trials. It needs to be a flat rate for everyone. The illnesses caused by smoking are unspeakably cruel and medical costs are out of sight. None of us should have to pay anything for health care. If youre coming to Australia on a temporary 600 visa, Overseas Visitor Health Cover (OVHC) is health insurance that cov From dentists to optometrists, its nice to build a relationship and enjoy that personal touch. By the number of cigarettes a person smokes in a day? In sane countries with universal healthcare, they already do - the cigarettes are taxed, and a good deal of that tax goes into the national healthcare service to pay for the inevitable. Should smokers and fat people pay more for health care? As a person who is living large, I can tell you that I don't have high blood pressure, I don't have diabetes, my knees and back are fine. These of course probably don't have insurance at all. They've introduced weight loss programs or classes to help people stop smoking. As a fat person who hasn't lost a pound since August 5th, there's more to it. Add to prior comment: Employers, however, have no business even asking these questions and companies should be banned from forcing them to. (if applicable) for The Wall Street Journal. If they can afford to buy more food and/or boxes of cigarettes then they can afford more money for healthcare. No subscription fees, no paywalls. Smokers should be allowed to make lifestyle choices free from coercion from employers, insurers, or the government. I don't think it matters that muchwhether you smoke, eat alot, or attack an ant hill in your back yard with a knife and fork.

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