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In reply to the discussion: New healthcare law could penalize older smokers up to $4,250 per year [View all]dogman
(6,073 posts)94. Does Medicare charge smokers more?
And I think you might be over concerned with the insurance business. There are a number of unhealthy items insurers could charge for. Do you have a high powered vehicle, firearms, and so on. These people are an easy target, look at your empathy level for them for instance.
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New healthcare law could penalize older smokers up to $4,250 per year [View all]
banned from Kos
Jan 2013
OP
It's not an instinct. There's nothing about being human that makes people need to smoke.
pnwmom
Jan 2013
#131
not if they have to pay an extra $4000 on top of the regular premium, it won't. first, that's
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#214
They do have the option of quitting, and paying the same rate as anybody else --
pnwmom
Jan 2013
#217
then the pricing scheme makes no sense at all, since the highest rates are charged to older
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#218
It makes sense to me because it encourages people to stop before it's too late,
pnwmom
Jan 2013
#220
i thought it was an insurance program, not a smoking cessation incentive. which is it?
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#221
or neither. because you've already admitted it's allocating risk & cost incorrectly, & the
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#223
As you say, Medicare provided equally for everyone, whether they were fat, thin, drug addicts,
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#207
I smoke. I cost the healthcare system NOTHING. have been paying for insurance for 55 years.
robinlynne
Jan 2013
#120
Where's the link to your source? Those nos. don't make sense. Also, deaths don't matter.
Honeycombe8
Jan 2013
#127
I've never known someone morbidly obese who became slim naturally in older years.
Honeycombe8
Jan 2013
#171
It's just another tax on the poor, the economic group most likely to smoke. They're already
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#42
If they are poor, then they qualify for Medicaid and thus this is irrelevant.
phleshdef
Jan 2013
#43
By 'poor' I mean the lower classes, not just the indigent. No, the lower working class are not
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#45
Whatever. If people engage in giving themselves an easily preventable condition for no good reason..
phleshdef
Jan 2013
#48
The higher your income, the longer you live & the more you use healthcare & the bigger the
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#49
medicare isn't medicaid. low-income people die younger & collect less on medicare.
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#54
lol. your 'rebuttal' study isn't about lifetime costs. and it also claims that obesity is even
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#141
Its about annual costs, which is more palpable than life expectancy speculation.
phleshdef
Jan 2013
#198
it's not *palpable* at all, as for *bigoted bullshit,* i've had a crawful of bigoted bullshit from
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#200
The life expectancy differences are AN ACTUARIAL CERTAINTY, proven statistically in multiple
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#205
Its a certainty until its not a certainty. That "certainty" can easily change.
phleshdef
Jan 2013
#208
i'm talking about the *actuarial certainty* that low-income people as a *class* die younger.
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#212
my income is 15,000. exactly enough for rent and health insurance, without food. I am
robinlynne
Jan 2013
#142
You said I should pay more for health insurance because I smoke. I cant pay a penny more.
robinlynne
Jan 2013
#179
It's actually paying MORE THAN THREE TIMES what the supposed 'extra cost' is (about $1200K/year, on
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#216
Everyone who willfully introduces longterm lifestyle risks does not have to pay more.
robinlynne
Jan 2013
#231
Segmenting insurance markets by risk cuts across that risk-spreading benefit in the interest of prof
Sekhmets Daughter
Jan 2013
#58
I don't agree, and I am not a smoker. This is discrimination pure and simple. What if this was
still_one
Jan 2013
#105
Actually, Obamacare is an improvement for smokers and offers more protections for them
CreekDog
Jan 2013
#73
that's a lie and you know it because you stated the opposite just a couple posts ago
CreekDog
Jan 2013
#100
Oh wait. . . . Those insurers have insidious little ways of finding out if one is lying. . .
BigDemVoter
Jan 2013
#23
how much do you want to bet that people will be tested for nicotine just as they are tested
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#46
'if they did' when the blood was drawn is basically 'that they do'. the percent of people who have
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#147
it really doesn't matter, does it? fairness is beside the point. The point is to discipline and
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#152
My point is nicotine does not a smoker make. Almost all ex smokers use nicotine.
robinlynne
Jan 2013
#176
I spoke at great lengths about the possible side effects wih my prescribing physician..
Earth_First
Jan 2013
#13
You wouldn't be alone. A lot of people starting to think the same way. Unfortunately we
DogPawsBiscuitsNGrav
Jan 2013
#18
And under the provisions of the ACA, individual states have the right to lower or change that number
Ikonoklast
Jan 2013
#14
Smoking is different. It is (a) 100% voluntary and (b) 100% guaranteed to lead to higher
geek tragedy
Jan 2013
#115
Never said that. Only that they choose to make themselves less healthy and more expensive
geek tragedy
Jan 2013
#119
What about all the money the states got from tobacco companies to offset the cost of healthcare?
okaawhatever
Jan 2013
#29
I have done everything I can to create for my patients a disincentive for smoking.
Aristus
Jan 2013
#44
Medical charts include spaces for subjective information, i.e.: "I don't smoke", as well
Aristus
Jan 2013
#66
You know, there might have been something to all the bitching the right was doing.
MrSlayer
Jan 2013
#59
oh really? We are the reason health care costs so much/ And yet europeans smoke more and health care
robinlynne
Jan 2013
#148
changing the subject? Yes I deny it. my stepfather was the oncology researcher who
robinlynne
Jan 2013
#174
The price of cigarettes in Texas is around $50 a carton and one carton a week is $2600 a year.
Thinkingabout
Jan 2013
#112
Well, then the smokers better grow some will power and quit cold-turkey.
OneTenthofOnePercent
Jan 2013
#160
Cheaper life and health policies for non-smokers are enforceable. If the health problem or death
libdem4life
Jan 2013
#113
This is idffernt LOWer premiums for some people, as opposed to raising premiums for others.
robinlynne
Jan 2013
#149
Like I said, I could understand health, but apparently smokers have some relevance to auto insurance
libdem4life
Jan 2013
#151
death is not preventable. if one thing doesn't get you, the other thing will. it's actually
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#153
actually not, since the bulk of medical costs are incurred in the last couple years of life. Of
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#165
baloney. smoking rates peaked for men in the 40s/50s, with 67 percent of men smoking. for women,
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#168
Thank-you. As a smoker, I doubt I will ever need a transplant. THAT is expensive!
robinlynne
Jan 2013
#177
yes, & yes. it's a very slippery slope & it's so weird to see all the democrats lining up to cheer.
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#162
marijuana causes lung disease & increases health care costs. just off yourself now & decrease
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#170
considering that a simple broken leg can rack up a five-figure bill and that there are plenty of
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#219
Thank you. If this is any indication, we're well on our way to 100% individualized, for profit
HiPointDem
Jan 2013
#213
So, People Shouldn't be Forced to Wear Seat Belts or Motorcycle Helmets Either?
Yavin4
Jan 2013
#226