{"id":1016,"date":"2013-02-07T12:53:37","date_gmt":"2013-02-07T19:53:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/theloungeisback.wordpress.com\/?p=1016"},"modified":"2014-01-10T18:07:18","modified_gmt":"2014-01-10T18:07:18","slug":"health-care-reform-penalizes-smokers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=1016","title":{"rendered":"Health Care Reform penalizes smokers"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"smoker<\/a><\/p>\n

A little-known provision in the Health Care Reform law<\/a> passed in 2010 is that it can penalize smokers — by a LOT.<\/p>\n

Beginning in January 2014, for a 60-year-old smoker, the surcharge could be up to $6,000 a year. That surcharge gets bigger and bigger for older smokers. Ouch. Boy, that’s incentive to quit, especially tacking on the other $2,000 a one-pack-a-day smoker spends just on the cigarettes. Especially considering that the majority of smokers now are low-income.<\/p>\n

Now the plan does allow smokers to avoid the surcharge if they agree to join a smoking cessation program; however, that option is not necessarily guaranteed to people attempting to buy individual insurance, according to this article quoted here.<\/p>\n

Is this fair? $6,000 is a lot of money. I’m sure it drives the smokers nuts that the law specifically says surcharges for people being overweight are not allowed.\u00a0 I can tell you many insurance companies already charge higher premiums to smokers (ours does, in fact), for a very simple reason. Smokers cost them more money. They get more diseases at a younger age than nonsmokers and cost more to insure and end up raising everyone’s rates as a result.<\/p>\n

Here’s a quote from this article about it:<\/p>\n

\n

Here’s how the math would work:<\/p>\n

Take a hypothetical 60-year-old smoker making $35,000 a year. Estimated premiums for coverage in the new private health insurance markets under Obama’s law would total $10,172. That person would be eligible for a tax credit that brings the cost down to $3,325.<\/p>\n

But the smoking penalty could add $5,086 to the cost. And since federal tax credits can’t be used to offset the penalty, the smoker’s total cost for health insurance would be $8,411, or 24 percent of income. That’s considered unaffordable under the federal law. The numbers were estimated using the online Kaiser Health Reform Subsidy Calculator.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Like I said, it seems as if a balance could be found. Put more emphasis on smoking cessation programs, make sure they are available to everyone.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A little-known provision in the Health Care Reform law passed in 2010 is that it can penalize smokers — by a LOT. Beginning in January 2014, for a 60-year-old smoker, the surcharge could be up to $6,000 a year. That surcharge gets bigger and bigger for older smokers. Ouch. Boy, that’s incentive to quit, especially … Continue reading Health Care Reform penalizes smokers<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":1531,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1016","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/smoker-skull.jpg?fit=261%2C193&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p4hpEa-go","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1102,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=1102","url_meta":{"origin":1016,"position":0},"title":"Smokers cost employers an average of $5,800 a year","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"June 5, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Yoiks, I can only imagine the comments at the old Smokers\u2019 Club (I haven\u2019t a clue if that is even around anymore. It\u2019s been years since I looked.) on this story! According to an Ohio State University researcher \u2014 between absenteeism caused by added health problems and lost productivity due\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "smoking"","block_context":{"text":"smoking","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=57"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/US-businesses-pay-about-6000-extra-for-workers-who-smoke.jpg?fit=630%2C354&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/US-businesses-pay-about-6000-extra-for-workers-who-smoke.jpg?fit=630%2C354&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/06\/US-businesses-pay-about-6000-extra-for-workers-who-smoke.jpg?fit=630%2C354&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":387,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=387","url_meta":{"origin":1016,"position":1},"title":"Las Vegas hotel charged $20 extra per night … for a non-smoking room","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"February 19, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"OK, sorry, this was just FLAT STUPID. A hotel in Las Vegas, the MGM Grand, was actually charging non-smokers a surcharge of $20 a night for a non-smoking room. A surcharge for non-smoking. REALLY? That's insane. I guess the hotel management didn't bother looking into how much smoking costs in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Secondhand smoke"","block_context":{"text":"Secondhand smoke","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=56"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/theloungeisback.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/02\/lasvegas-mgmgrand.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/theloungeisback.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/02\/lasvegas-mgmgrand.jpg?w=350&h=200&crop=1 1x, https:\/\/theloungeisback.files.wordpress.com\/2011\/02\/lasvegas-mgmgrand.jpg?w=525&h=300&crop=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":1119,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=1119","url_meta":{"origin":1016,"position":2},"title":"Oops, “Smokers’ glitch” means smokers won’t pay more for “Obamacare” coverage — for the moment","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"July 14, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Hah, OK, this is actually kind of funny. An example of government bureaucracy at its best. Under the Affordable Care Act, smokers were looking at paying up to 50 percent more than non-smokers through government insurance plans sold to small companies or individuals. BUT, the ACA also allows insurers to\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Affordable Care Act"","block_context":{"text":"Affordable Care Act","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/smoking-coverage-photo.jpg?fit=960%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/smoking-coverage-photo.jpg?fit=960%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/smoking-coverage-photo.jpg?fit=960%2C799&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/07\/smoking-coverage-photo.jpg?fit=960%2C799&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3365,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3365","url_meta":{"origin":1016,"position":3},"title":"Study: Risk of heart attack drops to normal 15 years after most smokers quit","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"June 19, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"An There's an interesting new study out that states that within 15 years of quitting smoking, smokers see their risk of heart attack drop to the same level as non-smokers. The study states that these conditions apply for an average smoker. For a heavy smoker -- a pack a day\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Heart disease"","block_context":{"text":"Heart disease","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=297"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/tips-for-a-healthy-heart.jpg?fit=400%2C273&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":841,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=841","url_meta":{"origin":1016,"position":4},"title":"Workplaces banning smokers — period. Is that cool?","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"January 12, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Here is something I've written about before, employers not only banning people from smoking on the premises, but refusing to hire smokers and firing people for being smokers. This USA Today article looks at this. There are a growing number of companies that are doing this, even including nicotine in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Anti-tobacco campaign"","block_context":{"text":"Anti-tobacco campaign","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=7"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/mizoram-no-smoking.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":3947,"url":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?p=3947","url_meta":{"origin":1016,"position":5},"title":"African-American doctors urge banning menthol cigarettes","author":"Pepe Lepew","date":"September 18, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"For some reason, I'm not sure why, menthol cigarettes are favoured by black smokers (interestingly, my parents were big menthol smokers for years and they were decidedly not black)... and Big Tobacco has long marketed menthols to black smokers. In fact, 75 percent of the smokers of the second biggest\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "African-Americans"","block_context":{"text":"African-Americans","link":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/?cat=839"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/smokers600.jpg?fit=600%2C320&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/smokers600.jpg?fit=600%2C320&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/09\/smokers600.jpg?fit=600%2C320&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1016"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1532,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1016\/revisions\/1532"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/1531"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1016"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1016"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pepesnonsmokingpartytimelounge.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1016"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}