Smokers Will Pay More for Health Insurance in Workplace
Some large corporations are telling their employees if they smoke they will have to pay more for their health insurance. 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.
Some of the companies are now charging as much as $600 extra for smokers. The companies involved in raising their medical costs for smokers reportedly are Macy’s, Gannett Publishing, Northwest Airlines and Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company.
Even though the move seems controversial, more than half of Americans approve charging smokers more for health insurance, according to a Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey.
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Companies say federal government studies show that a smoker costs an employer $5,606 extra per year because of higher medical expenses and absenteeism.
The survey found 54 percent of adults think people who smoke should pay higher health insurance rates than non-smokers. Among non-smokers, 70 percent think smokers should pay more for their health insurance.
According to the Center of Disease Control and Prevention, Cigarette smoking costs more than $193 billion ($97 billion in lost productivity plus $96 billion in health care expenditures).
In the United States, tobacco use is related to the deaths of about one in five annually (about 443,000 deaths per year, and an estimated 49,000 of these tobacco-related deaths are the result of secondhand smoke exposure).
Some reports indicate that smokers can die 13 or 14 years earlier than non-smokers. Current trends show that tobacco use will cause more than 8 million deaths annually by 2030.
Companies and insurance plans are offering incentives for smokers to change their habits. Some companies have offered financial rewards for exercising, dieting or other healthy behaviors. There are companies that are now paying for gym memberships or have started onsite fitness programs.
