(July 29, 2012 at 7:34 pm)Manowar Wrote: Frankie. people who smoke do for the most part face a shorter life and the cost of Tobacco, but that is there choice, I live responsibly and workout everyday. isn't that punishing good behavior and rewarding the smoker? I am not saying don't treat them just make them pony up
A couple of questions.
1) What is the average annualized cost of a smoker's health care vs. a non-smoker, amortized over their lifetime? In other words, how can you justify your statement that smokers should pay double?
2) Would you support making people pay up for other risk factors, or just those you happen to have a prejudice against? How about people with hazardous hobbies? People who intentionally expose themselves to excess UV radiation? People with genetic predispositions to illnesses? If you're not going to advocate this, in my estimation, you're more interested in sticking it to people who's lifestyles you disagree with rather than it having to do with any real associated increase in cost.
One of the main features of group insurance is that it averages the expenses across the entire group. This is a feature, not a bug.
