[Chief Smoker]

Hey, anybody else out there having a difficult time getting good insurance as a smoker? I run, i exercise, eat ok, but just because i smoke cigarettes (have tried to quit many times over the past 20 years, and finally having some success with Chantix to help me quit smoking and electronic cigarettes when I really need to exhale. Anyway, I was just curious if others are getting robbed on their rates like me, if you can get any health insurance at ALL!

[the iron horse]

I am a teacher in public middle school.

About three years ago we had to sign a paper stating
whether we used tobacco in any form. I checked yes.
They added a twenty-five dollar extra charge on my state
insurance every month.

It has gone up every year. I now pay sixty dollars a month
because I use tobacco. THey have never explained why.

I have never been in a hospital and only see my doctor for
check-ups.

I'm about to get a little upset.

If they raise it again next year, I will be asking questions
and complaining loudly.

[bobbyT]

I applied for life insurance this year, I'm 40, and apparently, if you're a smoker, they want to crawl up your life and business in order to provide you with life insurance for a smoker...the difference in premium between me and a non smoker is about $5,000 bucks a year...meanwhile, I run 5 miles a day, eat healthy, but i'm addicted to smoking, and I'm not a heavy smoker of cigarettes, just 3-5 a day, but i do enjoy a good smoke...no heart disease, no diabetes, but because of the smoking, they treat me like I'm going to keel over and die tomorrow, what bullshit! I wonder if smokers got together in a group like on this site if we could get better rates as a group? Hey, site administrators, why don't you guys look into that? See if we get a group of 10 or 20 people or more, if we could get good rates like a company plan?

[smokybear]

Bobby, that's a great idea! I would definitely be up for getting a quote in a group...my healthcare premiums are kicking my ass because of the fact that I'm a smoker..I'm not sure about the life insurance policy, but I'd love to get better healthcare coverage at a better premium...right now, I have a $5,000 deductible and my premium is still $780 a month for me alone! I'm only 38 and not overweight and no history of diabetes, heart disease, etc..I second your idea to see what would happen if we got quoted as a "group" - how many people have to be in a "group" to qualify for a group rate? Anyone know?

[the iron horse]

*elevation

A must read