It’s that time of year for benefits enrollment, and many people have gotten materials outlining the next year’s benefits. Some of you may notice a line item in your medical benefits page that reads “Tobacco Surcharge.”
By the terms of the Affordable Care Act, group health plans and self-insured employers can upcharge tobacco users up to 50% for their health insurance premiums. (Tobacco use in this case includes smoking, vaping, and chewing tobacco.) Why do some plans include this surcharge? It hasn’t been a mystery for decades that tobacco use is bad for the human body. It is responsible for nearly half a million deaths in the US each year and is the leading preventable cause of disease and death.
Not only is tobacco use harmful and potentially fatal, it is expensive. The CDC estimates that smoking-related illness costs more than $300 billion dollars annually in the U.S., including both medical care and for lost productivity. Group health plans and employers include this surcharge both to help cover tobacco-related medical expenses and to encourage people to quit using tobacco products.
However, if an employer plan implements a tobacco surcharge, it must also provide a tobacco cessation program. If you are a tobacco user and want to quit and to avoid the surcharge, you can sign up for a tobacco cessation program, or, in some cases, submit confirmation of being under a physician’s care for tobacco or nicotine use to HR. To find out exactly what you need to do to avoid the surcharge, talk to your Human Resources Department.
What is a Tobacco Surcharge and How Does My Company Offer One? (theexprogram.com)
What You Need to Know About Smoking and Health Insurance | HealthMarkets
Economic Trends in Tobacco | Smoking & Tobacco Use | CDC