Obama Health Reform Allows Insurance Companies to Charge Smokers 50% More than Non-Smokers

“Starting in 2014, the Affordable Care Act (ACA or Obamacare) will prohibit insurance companies from discriminating against people with pre-existing health conditions. Although ACA guarantees access to the chronically unwell, including those who are overweight, or have a condition like diabetes, it will allow insurers to charge up to 50% higher rates to smokers, because smoking is considered an optional behavior, not an illness. As a result, millions of smokers may find that health insurance is just too expensive.

To be clear, under present law insurance companies already charge smokers more and are even allowed to deny them coverage altogether because of their higher rates of serious illness like cancer and heart disease. The premium, which rises with a smoker’s age, was in part the result of a lobbying campaign by anti-smoking health advocates, and constituted a compromise solution.

Now, however, some are questioning whether the ACA is too burdensome on smokers, especially since smokers tend to be lower-income and to work in jobs without insurance benefits. For example, a 55-year-old smoker could pay a smoking premium of as much as $4,250 a year, while a 60-year-old could pay up to $5,100….”

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