So next year my company health insurance is charging me an extra $50/month if we use tobacco. I'm trying not to sound like a whiner, but this pisses me off. Anybody else experiencing this? When will they start charging us for how much sugar we eat or how many hours we watch TV? How does this jive with ObamaCare? I thought everyone was getting free health care, but I just keep paying more for mine. Perhaps I should just count my blessings.
How much is smoking worth to you?
- Thread starter srduggins
- Start date
javajunkie
BoM July '12
from a practical standpoint, they make little difference between smoking and smoking. cigars are not ciggies. pipe is not dip. go without for a week or so and lie your ass off! if they don't spot check, they will never know.
from an ideological standpoint, i get you, i really do. having my behavior mandated REALLY pisses me off. i am mostly "lest ye harm none", so having government, or worse, business, dictate terms for what i can legally do strikes me as intrusive and bullying. my natural reaction is "i smoke, get stuffed!"
from an ideological standpoint, i get you, i really do. having my behavior mandated REALLY pisses me off. i am mostly "lest ye harm none", so having government, or worse, business, dictate terms for what i can legally do strikes me as intrusive and bullying. my natural reaction is "i smoke, get stuffed!"
Agentskull
BoM Feb 14
It's really none of their business what I do with my body. Until they discover it on their own it is not really happening. And what is smoking anyway. I might get one in a week or every other.
Sent from my HTC One V using Tapatalk 2
Sent from my HTC One V using Tapatalk 2
blame it on the nasty cigarette inhalers & health ins. co's for lumping us in with the likes
...about half of all Americans who keep smoking will die because of the habit. Each year about 443,000 people in the United States die from illnesses related to tobacco use. kills more Americans than alcohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide, and illegal drugs combined. accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths.
fuk'em
Id just check, non smoker
imho
...about half of all Americans who keep smoking will die because of the habit. Each year about 443,000 people in the United States die from illnesses related to tobacco use. kills more Americans than alcohol, car accidents, suicide, AIDS, homicide, and illegal drugs combined. accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths.
fuk'em
Id just check, non smoker
imho
I wish I had checked 'non-smoker', but my agent did one of those mouth swab things for tobacco. I said I smoke '1 cigar per week' (obviously lying), but they still charge me an extra $10/month. Not much, but still pisses me off. He said, "well, when we revisit this in 1 year and you quit, the rate will drop."
I said, 'I'll keep paying the $10/month extra, thanks anyway. Not giving up cigars."
"IT'S OUR BASIC FREEDOMS!" - Walter Sobchak
I said, 'I'll keep paying the $10/month extra, thanks anyway. Not giving up cigars."
"IT'S OUR BASIC FREEDOMS!" - Walter Sobchak
Went through this same crap last year, I get charged $25 a month for tobacco use. I was pissed for awhile, but then just handed them a bottle of lube and took it. Figured if there was any way for them to tell I did lie, I could lose a major claim against my health insurance, plus it said falsifying this document could result in termination. Price I pay for enjoying the finer things in life. I know their targets were cigarette smokers and I do agree on that standard, but it sucks to be told how to live MY life. Argghhhhhh!!!!!!
StogieNinja
Derek | BoM June 2014
This. For this reason, when I got my life insurance policy, I specifically disclosed my cigar smoking. I don't want to give them any reason to deny my wife the money she's entitled too, even if I have to pay more.
Had this same dilemma at my last job. They charged an extra $60/mo for "Tobacco Users". I just said I wasn't a tobacco user, but I knew in the back of my mind that if something ever did happen I'd be taking the risk that the insurance company could deny coverage. Luckily that job laid me off and at my new job they pay for 100% of health insurance costs!
Just think about how much cheaper it is to pay the extra $ now than paying for treatments later if something comes up. My 23 year old sister in law was diagnosed with bone cancer and without the insurance, there would be no way in hell she could afford it. Its sad how profitable it is for these companies when someone gets cancer. No wonder there isnt a cure yet.
I'll be ready for the flaming, as I have to say I don't see anything wrong with this. It's just actuarial. People who get a lot of speeding tickets will pay higher car insurance premiums because they have demonstrated a propensity to engage in risky behavior behind the wheel. Smokers engage in a risky behavior from the perspective of health insurers. Maybe insurers will get around to dinking people who are overweight-- they don't now (as far as I know), but I wouldn't blame them. It's actually already happening in an inverse kind of way, insofar as I get money back on my health insurance premiums for going to my gym at a certain frequency, and I get even more back for doing annual HRAs and getting a flu shot. I think my first colonoscopy a few months back got me a check for $25 (SO worth it!). It's not unreasonable to be a little ticked about it insofar as we all know that occasional cigar smoking is several orders of magnitude less risky than smoking four packs of cigarettes per day, yet the insurance company treats it all the same. But by the same token, I get the same rebate whether I go to the gym 3 days a week, 5 days a week, or every day of the week. Still-- the basic principle remains: embrace risky behavior, pay more for insurance; eschew risk, pay less. Like everything else, it's a cost-benefit calculus. And I am with those who are willing to pay more so as to still be able to enjoy a nice pastime.
It's free. Sorry to be the Canadian stepping in here. It is in part as to why our taxes on everything day to day is 13% and why tobacco taxes are through the roof but the healthcare is free. It is an odd trade off but I accept it and welcome it really.
Sent from my Tapatalk 2 using iPhone. Bahahahaha ass backwards.
Sent from my Tapatalk 2 using iPhone. Bahahahaha ass backwards.
There are already companies out there that make employees drop weekly or monthly on a random basis. They check for carcinogens and high amounts of fatty lipids. If you lie about your smoking status your premiums are automatically raised 50%. If your diet is particularly unhealthy you are red-flagged and additional instances will raise premiums automatically. If you are obese already you dont get a 2 strike policy. Eventually, engaging in high risk behaviors will be a sure fire way to find yourself not being covered at all.
While some things Obamacare has done are extremely good for people, other things have already increased health insurance rates significantly and that trend won't be stopping anytime soon. The whole thing is broken and there isn't a backup plan in place for much of it either, which is frightening. Wonderful, wonderful America.
While some things Obamacare has done are extremely good for people, other things have already increased health insurance rates significantly and that trend won't be stopping anytime soon. The whole thing is broken and there isn't a backup plan in place for much of it either, which is frightening. Wonderful, wonderful America.
ciggy
"TommyBoy"
Check this out...Obamacare is going after tobacco users in a big way.
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Obamacare-Smokers-Huge-Penalties/2013/01/26/id/487522
http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/Obamacare-Smokers-Huge-Penalties/2013/01/26/id/487522
Dont risk your families security. I feel your frustration, believe me, I smoked cigarettes for 20 years and quit when we had our first child. When I first married got life insurance and even 18 years ago they charged more for smokers. After i quit renewed the policy and my rates when down which made me happy. After our second child went to get more insurance and the rates went down even more! In the past 2 years is when i picked up this hobby and i am not beating a path to their door to tell them, but when time comes to renew I will...I couldnt afterlive with myself knowing I screwed my family because I didnt want to pay a little extra.
Luckily, I do not have to jump through hoops for health insurance through my work!
Luckily, I do not have to jump through hoops for health insurance through my work!
I am about to get a similar thing, but no charge. The college I work at just announced that on August 19th we are going tobacco free... The new policy they wrote even excludes nicotine patches, snuff, pipes, cigars.... and on down the list. They actually expect us to drive off campus to smoke, that'll really help productivity.... Educated folks can really amaze me sometimes. And I don't want to start on obamacare... You all may kick me off the forum if I really tell ya what I think of him and his health care BS...
I just checked "No." in the box next to "Are you a smoker, and have you smoked within the past 2 weeks?"
TravelingJ
Banned
- Joined
- May 23, 2010
- Messages
- 1,234
I know the original post was about health insurance, but since a lot of people are talking about life insurance-call around. My life insurance doesn't consider cigars to be an issue. My rate was the same with 0 cigars a week, and with 7 a week. I have heard the horror stories of people getting killed in a wreck, and insurance denied because they hid cigarette smoking. Of course that has nothing to do with another car hitting you-but they just want an easy way out.
Look for a new policy.
Look for a new policy.
What if you were not a smoker at the time the insurance policy started, but began smoking years later? Would they still be able to deny coverage?
My company says you must immediately notify them if you start.