Health insurance companies today can legally charge smokers up to 50% more in premiums than non-smokers, based on the simple fact that smokers have made a dangerous lifestyle choice. As the latest surge in the coronavirus pandemic ravages America — especially those portions of America where misguided ideological rejection of science has spurred people to refuse the vaccine — some advocates are calling for making the willfully unvaccinated pay higher insurance rates to cover the costs they’re incurring in the health care system.
Monday’s full regulatory approval of the Pfizer vaccine strengthens that argument.
One of the important reforms under the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) is that it prevents health insurance companies from refusing coverage or charging higher rates to people with preexisting medical conditions. But Obamacare specifically allows higher premiums for smokers. This makes sense because, unlike a preexisting medical condition, smoking is a choice — and a potentially costly one for everyone else in the insurance pool.
