obamacare to have a surcharge for smokers

[dblack]

One could say the same thing about auto, malpractice, and workman comprehension insurance required by law. You may find it taxing to pay for it, but it's not a tax.

Oh brother, this is just sad really

Please link to the federal law requiring car insurance

Please link to the federal law requiring malpractice insurance

Please link to the federal law requiring everyone to carry workmans compensation insurance.

Whether state or federal, there are laws that require the purchase of insurance other than health insurance. Some states require that a divorced parent(s) provide health insurance for the children. Government mandated insurance is nothing new.

So? Is 'nothing new' equivalent to 'good policy' in your lexicon?

 

[Care4all]

People who are a higher risk should pay more than those who are less of a risk. Just as a 16 yr old new driver pays more than a 30+ yr experienced driver. Have a couple of accidents, you're more of a risk to insure, your rates go up. Get sick, you're more of a risk, your rates go up. Not mine, not someone elses.

Well, people that are older are at higher risk of needing insurance than those who are younger and insurance plans on and off the exchnge do charge more for the "risk" of age....

According to the Kaiser Calculator....in my state, a person who is 30 would pay $3000-$4000 less a year, than a healthy person my age (in my 50's) would have to pay.....I have a 20-30 year History of never being sick and never using more than a couple of hundred dollars worth of Health Insurance for doctor visits in a year...yet my insurance if bought on the exchange would charge me thousands of dollars more than the 30 year old.....according to the calculator....so I have to presume that Insurance companies are considering "age" a risk and are allowed to charge for that "risk".

Insurance companies can charge more to older subscribers but depending on your state, not as much as was charged prior to the law. Prior to the law, rates could be as much as 5 times higher for older subscribers in 42 states. Under the new law, premiums can not be more than 3 times the rate charged for younger subscribers. This results in higher premiums for younger subscribers and lower premiums for older subscribers in states where insurance companies actually charged 5 times as much to older subscribers.

There is a huge variation in the cost of individual insurance between states even thou there is little difference in the health of the subscriber base. This is primarily due to the difference in state insurance laws and completion.

America's Health Insurance Plans - Age Rating

I know! Insurance in my State, is several thousand dollars a year more than many if not most other States....I don't ever remember it not being like this since we moved to Maine...it has nothing to do with Obamacare, it's my messed up State laws......

7 years ago, for an Individual health Insurance Policy from Blue Cross Blue shield, for someone my age was $12000 a year, $1000 a month...THANK GOD, my husband found a job up here that had group insurance coverage or I would have been without Insurance....what's sad is that my husband uses his disabled Veterans coverage and did not need to buy insurance from his employer because he had insurance with the VA, but he had to buy insurance for himself at his job with United Health Care, so that he could get group rate coverage for me...so he's paying for health insurance that he has never used, just to get me covered at a reasonable price compared to Individual rates, ($380 a month for group ins.), of which I too have never used other than routine wellness visit.....but I feel I need to have health Insurance coverage for the "just in case" I ever get sick or hospitalized before the age of 65....

If I had the money we have spent on health Insurance over the years, since we were young....I'd be all set for living the good life in retirement....

 

[Flopper]

Well, people that are older are at higher risk of needing insurance than those who are younger and insurance plans on and off the exchnge do charge more for the "risk" of age....

According to the Kaiser Calculator....in my state, a person who is 30 would pay $3000-$4000 less a year, than a healthy person my age (in my 50's) would have to pay.....I have a 20-30 year History of never being sick and never using more than a couple of hundred dollars worth of Health Insurance for doctor visits in a year...yet my insurance if bought on the exchange would charge me thousands of dollars more than the 30 year old.....according to the calculator....so I have to presume that Insurance companies are considering "age" a risk and are allowed to charge for that "risk".

Insurance companies can charge more to older subscribers but depending on your state, not as much as was charged prior to the law. Prior to the law, rates could be as much as 5 times higher for older subscribers in 42 states. Under the new law, premiums can not be more than 3 times the rate charged for younger subscribers. This results in higher premiums for younger subscribers and lower premiums for older subscribers in states where insurance companies actually charged 5 times as much to older subscribers.

There is a huge variation in the cost of individual insurance between states even thou there is little difference in the health of the subscriber base. This is primarily due to the difference in state insurance laws and completion.

America's Health Insurance Plans - Age Rating

I know! Insurance in my State, is several thousand dollars a year more than many if not most other States....I don't ever remember it not being like this since we moved to Maine...it has nothing to do with Obamacare, it's my messed up State laws......

7 years ago, for an Individual health Insurance Policy from Blue Cross Blue shield, for someone my age was $12000 a year, $1000 a month...THANK GOD, my husband found a job up here that had group insurance coverage or I would have been without Insurance....what's sad is that my husband uses his disabled Veterans coverage and did not need to buy insurance from his employer because he had insurance with the VA, but he had to buy insurance for himself at his job with United Health Care, so that he could get group rate coverage for me...so he's paying for health insurance that he has never used, just to get me covered at a reasonable price compared to Individual rates, ($380 a month for group ins.), of which I too have never used other than routine wellness visit.....but I feel I need to have health Insurance coverage for the "just in case" I ever get sick or hospitalized before the age of 65....

If I had the money we have spent on health Insurance over the years, since we were young....I'd be all set for living the good life in retirement....

In my state 15 companies submitted applications to be listed on the exchange. Some withdrew because there would not be enough time for implementation after state approval. Several of the largest companies limited their participation to only the largest metropolitan area. Only 5 companies were approved. In some counties, there were only two companies. In three counties, there was only one company. To no surprise, insurance companies do what they always do when competition is limited, offer only the most profitable plans that will minimize claims and maximize profits.

It takes time and a considerable investment for insurance companies to enter a new market. The companies have to establish a network of providers which can be a major challenge in rural areas. State laws that require a local presence increase costs as do requirements that protect the customers access to a full range of healthcare providers.

From the comments of insurance CEOs, it seems they are very unsure of both the size of the market in 2014 as well as demographics. When insurance companies are unsure of expected claims, they cover their ass by jacking up premiums which I'm sure they are doing in some areas.

 

[Flopper]

Oh brother, this is just sad really

Please link to the federal law requiring car insurance

Please link to the federal law requiring malpractice insurance

Please link to the federal law requiring everyone to carry workmans compensation insurance.

Whether state or federal, there are laws that require the purchase of insurance other than health insurance. Some states require that a divorced parent(s) provide health insurance for the children. Government mandated insurance is nothing new.

So? Is 'nothing new' equivalent to 'good policy' in your lexicon?

It's not just good policy, it's good laws.

 

[Luddly Neddite]

Alternatively, smokers could post a bond showing they can pay their health bills. After all, that would be more than reasonable because, as some of the rw's said, smokers die young and so, don't cost as much money as healthy people.

'course, they failed to mention just how much those smokers would cost before they kick off.

Maybe John Boehner knows. he should because, thanks to the damn fool rw's, he's had a long career of failure in the House of Representatives. That old drunk can more than afford his various hobbies and addictions - booze, cigarettes, tanning, golf and showing up to the office a scant 126 days a year.

So, what do you think about financial responsibility?

(JK - rw's want their socialist health care to stay free.)

 

[Papageorgio]

Alternatively, smokers could post a bond showing they can pay their health bills. After all, that would be more than reasonable because, as some of the rw's said, smokers die young and so, don't cost as much money as healthy people.

'course, they failed to mention just how much those smokers would cost before they kick off.

Maybe John Boehner knows. he should because, thanks to the damn fool rw's, he's had a long career of failure in the House of Representatives. That old drunk can more than afford his various hobbies and addictions - booze, cigarettes, tanning, golf and showing up to the office a scant 126 days a year.

So, what do you think about financial responsibility?

(JK - rw's want their socialist health care to stay free.)

Then we need to make sure that obese people pay more, people that have more than one sexual partner. We also need to make sure that we start testing for drug users and surcharge them.

Then we can genetically test to see which people are at higher risk for diseases.

If you want to be fair, let's be fair.

 

[Geaux4it]

Which will effectively price them out of the insurance market.

ObamaCare slams smokers with sky-high premium costs, could backfire | Fox News

Unlike drug addicts, alcoholics, or the obese -- all of whom represent higher-than-average medical costs -- smokers are the only such group with a pre-existing condition that ObamaCare penalizes. It allows insurance companies to charge smokers up to 50 percent more than non-smokers for an identical policy.

For example, premiums for a 64-year-old non-smoker, according to the Kaiser Health Calculator, cost $9,000 a year for a standard "silver" insurance plan.

The same policy for a smoker could cost $13,600.

When "affordable" health care is 33% to 50% of your income, it isn't so affordable any more.

Wow.. Just wow...

Time to start a rebellion

-Geaux

 

[Geaux4it]

Obamacare is de-facto population control. More people will be pushed into poverty, thus dying sooner, or just down right die because they can't get the insurance they once had, at a cost they can afford

Obama needs removed from office through impeachment

As the song says, The Damage is Done

-Geaux