Still Smoking? Gonna Cost You
Most people are going to benefit from Obamacare. But not smokers , many of whom will be paying 50% more for health insurance, according to Kelly Kennedy at usatoday.com. The saddest part? It may hurt the poor the most. Kennedy notes that an estimated 29% of adults with incomes below the federal poverty level smoke, vs. 18% of those above. "Smokers – and chewers – in some states may have to pay as much as 50% more in premiums than non-smokers if they sign up for insurance through state health exchanges that open next month, according to provisions in the Affordable Care Act," she writes. It's the old argument. Tax the people who smoke so much, they'll throw their cigarettes away. But as with soda and junk food and other things that are bad for us, rarely does this work. Kennedy gives the example of a 25-year-old single man, who, under the new health exchanges, might be charged a premium of $150 a month. But if he's a smoker, that could go up an extra ...