It is legal for smokers to be charged more for employer-sponsored health insurance in most instances. Absolutely! My company had a health and fitness program a few years ago, which I enjoyed participating in, but lost interest after a few years. Quit smoking; start working out. Want a weekly round-up in your inbox? The idea is also dead wrong. If you get a lot of speeding/reckless driving tickets or accidents you paay more for auto insurrance-same principle. Smokers, along with the tobacco industry, should pay to cover healthcare costs associated with their bad habit. Nonprofit hospitals increasingly rely on philanthropy to supplement decreasing clinical revenues and a decline in the growth of government research funding. Get free updates delivered free to your inbox. We all know that if we do the right things (exercise, eat properly, stop smoking, drink in moderation and take medications to prevent disease from getting worse) we will all spend less on healthcare. 2023 Compare Club, All Rights Reserved. It never ends. Absolutely! Fresh food is cheaper than junk food and less food costs less than more food. Yes, and those with alcohol related diseases. Not surprisingly, implementing a differential does involve some risk. But that's a story for another day. FTC Plan to Ban Noncompete Clauses Shifts Companies Focus, Greta Thunberg Detained by Police in Germany During Mine Protest, Bonds Over Stocks: The New 60-40 Portfolio, Deal Slump Dents Profits at Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Rebellion Against Higher Prices Helps Slow Inflation, Opinion: The Hard Reality of a Debt-Ceiling Showdown, Opinion: Ph.D. Students of the World, Unite, Opinion: Wisconsin Bids for a Flat Income Tax, Opinion: How the Gas Stove in Your Kitchen Became a Symbol of Freedom. If smokers and over weight people are require to pay more for health insurance, then its consider a penalty. Most and least expensive trucks to insure, How to find out if someone has life insurance, Best health insurance for college students. On the Ground, Its More Complicated. Van Baal and colleagues compared the lifetime health care costs of three groups: smokers, obese individuals, and healthy individuals. Read Should Ethicists Be at the Table in Public Health Policy Deliberations? Insurance comp. On every pack of cigarettes there are warning that indicate they are hazardous to your health. Thus, in the name of anti-discrimination (tobacco lobby) and ensuring access for the poor (the anti-cancer groups). Follow this author to stay notified about their latest stories. Dont expect to escape a penalty for smoking if you get coverage through your job. life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for all, jack. execept for those fat people and smokers. Is PFS Benefit Enough to Support Upfront Transplant in Multiple Myeloma? There is no excuse other than they lack the will to eat less. The Affordable Care Act allows insurers to charge smokers up to 50% more than what nonsmokers pay for some health plans. The second ethical argument for charging smokers higher insurance rates is that it is actuarially fair because individual insurance rates should be based on expected payouts. Or enjoy cook outs eating hamburgers and hot dogs? As for a flat tax, I mean fat tax, ask New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. Life insurance rates for smokers versus non-smokers. Sign In. So to those healthy ones out there shouting "YES they should charge".. beware, they may be charging you for breathing fresh air one day! They do, Jack. Since fat people and smokers will die at an earlier age no need to pay more for insurance, since they wont be paying for it much longer. Fortunately, theres a simple solution to the problem. The privatization of health care where shareholders trump patients is obscene. But should smokers pay more for health insurance? If they are lazy and indulge themselves with bad food and refuse to change that! These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc. What Scrub Color Should Surgeons Probably Avoid? Due to the increased risk, those who smoke can pay more for their monthly premium. We all souldn't have to pay for their addictions. Comments are moderated before they are published. Once people feel it in the wallet/pocketbook,. I excersize daily and I have a positive outlook on life. However, lying is fraud, and you can be denied coverage if you misrepresent yourself. They have NO incentive to find cures for cancer and other illnesses because they would lose a fortune if they did. I recently watched obese administrative people at a healthcare facility in Massachusetts shovel potato chips and donuts into their fat faces, and I couldn't help but wonder how someone who works in healthcare could be so oblivious to be so self-destructive. Taxes do not prohibit people from engaging in behavior, but they can help to ensure that individuals bear the costs of their behavior. Healthy Reader tired of making excuses for my fellow Lazy Americans. It's not that is it unfair but you need to be responsible. It would be ironicand tragicif charging smokers higher health insurance rates prevented them from accessing services that could help them stop smoking. Last month, I rotated in the Bronx at a federally qualified health center. I don't have cancer. We, AOL, are part of the Yahoo family of brands. At the same time, skinny non-smokers should pay half. is this what we want to teach our kids? Information about your device and internet connection, like your IP address, Browsing and search activity while using Yahoo websites and apps. Or. Only if drunks & drug addicts will pay more. The GOP would never accept a such an un-American thing as a tax increase on these people. 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. If the answer is a choice between free behavior modification/education and wasting money on junk food, and they choose to waste money, this will decrease the money for waste, and encourage adopting behavior to save that money. Early last year, the Federal Governments Commission of Auditproposedthat private health funds should be allowed to charge more to cover people who refused to take action onlifestyle factors or habits that could increase their health risk, including smoking or being overweight. Where would it end? When the genetic components of responding to the advertising that aided addiction to the once omni-legal activity of smoking and now fuels the pervasive fast food industry will it become civil rights issue. That's up from 19% this year and only 8% in 2009. The slim & trim one, or the one who's got a medium waistline that goes with their body / or height proportionate, or the 3 pack a day smoker ? A natural response . I don't say this to punish smokers, I say it to get tobacco off the market so it will not impact the lives of today's children. If this is fair, then why not have Phillip Morris kick in? Jack, I understand your question but how can anyone afford to pay more for Health Care? Why should I continue to support bad behavior by paying for it. If Australia responded to popular demand and moved towards a risk-based system, smokers could find themselves facing higher premiums. Got a news tip? Why stop at smokers and the obese. However, because smokers and obese people die younger than healthy individuals, healthy individuals had the highest lifetime health care expenditures. "let the Insurance companies charge anyone a penalty, If they spend more for health insurance, maybe they won't have enough funds for cigarettes or junk food!! If we are to receive adequate healthcare in this very backward country, we must rein the medical industry in tightly. It says smokers consume about 25% more health care services than nonsmokers. J is a 21-year-old male with multiple disabilities. Please see our FSG. 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? Those of us who are short people should be ready. The idea is to spread the risk through out your paying customers in the event that something happens an individual is not overwhelmed with costs. Absolutely !! I'm one who believes those who are unhealthy should pay more. Multiply the number of packs you smoke in a week by the cost of cigarettes to find out how much you can save by not smoking. So pay up! Carol Duh-Leong is a medical student who blogs atProgress Notes. His trial work has involved virtually all areas of labor and employment practice, including employment discrimination, harassment, wage and hour, wrongful discharge, FMLA, public accommodation under the ADA and labor litigation. We have been paying more for our health care for several years because we smoke. a day?!?!?! This is just one more shameful proposal. No JackThat`s just wrong!!!! It's a slippery slope. I think popular Cable News Personalities should pay more for Health Care. Social engineering though tax policies never works. Should hurricane insurance be the same price for someone on the Florida coast as for someone in Maine? I think our government should ban smoking. There's more complex social issues at play for these health issues. An alternative might be to give those of us non-smokers and who are not obese a discount. ABSOLUTELY! I agree with everything except for your last sentence. People who work in office jobs and sit all day since that's terrible for you? However, until we do the same for alcoholics and drug users, it is unconstitutional. It seems unfair to those of us that take care of our health? charge higher insurance premiums to employees who smoke, and some companies refuse to hire smokers. Clearly, more research is needed on the relationship between financial incentives and smoking cessation. 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. smokers get the ass end of every stick, even though people do way stupider things that risk their lives. It is a shame what american society has come to with everyone making an excuse for overweight people. More profit. Should smokers pay more for health insurance? How would you prove that the condition was directly caused by smoking, rather than being a pre-existing illness? The risk is based on numerous factors such as, lifestyle and genetics. The more people need it, the more it goes up. The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". Life insurance premiums are based on your health risk for insurance providers. Jack, It would be ironic-and tragic-if charging smokers higher health Policies that are adopted should be fair and not undermine smokers' access to health care. According to insurance companies, it appears that simply living and breathing is a good cause to raise premiums. By the number of cigarettes a person smokes in a day? But do ethicists belong at the table? It is only fair that those who have negative behavior pay more for their health care. 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. As a reformed smoker it was hard to quit, but I now save a ton of money by not smoking at 10 bucks a pack. Of course they should pay more. This is a stupid idea. Absolutely! Whether you currently use tobacco or have recently quit, healthcare for smokers is paramount. No need to play big brother by charging people more for health insurance. What if that person has a contagious disease? I am a smoker for 14 years now and my answer to the question is; YES! Another incentive. We do not charge a person more that jay walks and gets hit by a car and we do not charge the Gal that has a child every year more because she gives birth like a rabbit. And people who drive more than others, people who work 3 jobs, people who don't work enough, people who drink too much, those that don't drink enough. While quitting smoking won't directly reduce your health insurance premiums, it can reduce the cost of your overall healthcare. 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. Of course anyone that eats fast food, or any fried or unhealthy food would need to pay more. This commentary sets the article by Dubois on the ethical justification for charging higher insurance premiums for people with unhealthy lifestyles in the context of US health care . Some Liberal Democrat(s) in Washington stated that it's discriminasting against fat people and smokers, that's why we all have to pay. Add to prior comment: Employers, however, have no business even asking these questions and companies should be banned from forcing them to. By the 1980s, smokers were already paying more for life insurance than their nonsmoking counterparts. First. I have no sympathy for them whatsoever. No subscription fees, no paywalls. Then we get into a whole debate over which stupid behavior deserves discounted healthcare and which doesn't. Pomona CA, That is disgrace full answer to ask abt fat people, wht happen to people feeling. What are they planning for the medicaid system, smokers and fat individuals that receive public assistance and free insurance. Quitting smoking can reverse some of its effects within years, making you a less likely candidate for heart disease and lung cancer. Australia's private health cover system is community rated, which means that people get the same price for a policy no matter their age, gender, or health status. There's my point. Why should those who have healthy habits subsidise them? 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. Charging smokers higher health insurance premiums is no more objectionable than imposing taxes on tobacco products, alcohol, guns, or gasoline. Hell no. I overheard a pharmaceutical rep entice him with all kinds of freebies to push her drugs. Smokers should be allowed to make lifestyle choices free from coercion from employers, insurers, or the government. YES and I say that as an addicted smoker. For your bank account? I pay for an individual policy for our family, (we do not get health insurance through employment) and what most people don't realize is that insurance companies already practice this discrimination. Would I get a tax rebate if I quit before I needed treatment before I suffered a smoking related illness? Jack, maybe you should ask Herman Cain's campaign Chief of Staff Mark Block if smoker's should pay more- he could do a cheap ad against it. Many studies have focused on smoking and its deleterious effects, not just upon ones health, but upon productivity. Yes. Those that drink alcohol excessively?, those that engage in unprotected sex?, abuse prescricption drugs and painkillers? Who would YOU Hire First ?? ET to see if Jack reads your answer on the air. Note they wouldn't pay more for health care but health care insurance. 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. Othersrebutted that suntanning, eating junk food and drinking alcohol also count as voluntary bad habits that can negatively impact on health.
David Kohler Wife, John Cooper Clarke Lydia, Army Pistol Qualification Scores, Ffxiv Submersible Calculator, When Does Soma Become An Elite Ten, Articles S
David Kohler Wife, John Cooper Clarke Lydia, Army Pistol Qualification Scores, Ffxiv Submersible Calculator, When Does Soma Become An Elite Ten, Articles S