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by pacman
on Wed Oct 22, 2008 4:50 pm |
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My company is changing our health care policy for next year, which will charge extra money to individuals that smoke, specifically they are doubling the fee. But they are not doing anything to people that have alcohol, drug or obesity problems.
When I asked my HR department, they said smokers were targeted because they are the leaders in preventable deaths in the US, now while this might be true, I believe that this is a blatant act of discrimination against smokers. Is this even legal? Is there any legal advice here?
Oh, btw they consider a smoker anybody that smokes 1 or more cigarettes a week. Not cigars or pipe, just cigarettes.
Thanks in advace. |
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pacman
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by MizTerry
on Fri Oct 24, 2008 10:56 pm |
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MizTerry
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by CigarBoy
on Sat Oct 25, 2008 1:52 am |
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| Go work for a company that is interested in having you work there. It is a competive world and the companies that offer a good compensation package get the good employees. |
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CigarBoy
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by gilster
on Sat Oct 25, 2008 6:01 am |
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pacman wrote:
Oh, btw they consider a smoker anybody that smokes 1 or more cigarettes a week. Not cigars or pipe, just cigarettes.
That's strange - does your company consider cigar and pipe smokers non-smokers or the insurance company?
Can you share the name of the insurance company? |
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gilster
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by MizTerry
on Sat Oct 25, 2008 8:20 pm |
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Can you share the name of the insurance company?[/quote]
THAT would help to know! |
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MizTerry
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by JoshNJ
on Sun Oct 26, 2008 2:22 pm |
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pacman wrote: My company is changing our health care policy for next year, which will charge extra money to individuals that smoke, specifically they are doubling the fee. But they are not doing anything to people that have alcohol, drug or obesity problems.
When I asked my HR department, they said smokers were targeted because they are the leaders in preventable deaths in the US, now while this might be true, I believe that this is a blatant act of discrimination against smokers. Is this even legal? Is there any legal advice here?
Oh, btw they consider a smoker anybody that smokes 1 or more cigarettes a week. Not cigars or pipe, just cigarettes.
Unfortunately for you, at this particular time it is legal for the insurance companies to impose higher premiums for individuals that smoke. It is not discrimination because it is not in violation of any protected class under the law. Smoking is not considered a disability or a handicap, and that would be the closest thing to protection against unequal insurance premiums.
Another poster pointed to a link of a law firm investigating these situations and similar ones for ERISA violations, but there is no standing for a lawsuit here. Insurance companies can adjust premiums for individuals based on their risk activities and how responsible they are with their health. A person who skis or skydives vs. a person who swims or reads are at different levels of risk for injuries. A young person of average weight at 25 vs. an overweight person of 55 is going to be given different premiums as well.
I also wouldn't recommend quitting and going to find work elsewhere that doesn't have this kind of insurance policy. I do not know the trend but it doesn't sound like switching companies will prevent this from happening again. I would prefer reading the actual text of this new policy and deciding if it makes sense to you and what you do at your job. It sounds like you spoke to someone in HR and you did agree with the reasoning behind this policy but just do not want to actual pay for it. Nobody likes to be told what to do, but that is what working for someone else means and until they cross the line of legal interference, you will have to either go along with this change or decline insurance coverage.
As for the company not also attacking other health hazards such as alcohol, drug abuse, and obesity. These are bad habits that would negatively affect an employees health. However, the choice to include those in the new policy is up to them. Again, this seems unbalanced and unfair to you, but it is still not illegal. |
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JoshNJ
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by Darkseid
on Sun Oct 26, 2008 6:57 pm |
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| I strongly disagree. Start looking for another job-now. |
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Darkseid
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by Darkseid
on Sun Oct 26, 2008 6:58 pm |
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| And when you quit, make sure they know why! |
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by Lynda F
on Mon Oct 27, 2008 10:17 am |
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JoshNJ wrote:
Unfortunately for you, at this particular time it is legal for the insurance companies to impose higher premiums for individuals that smoke. It is not discrimination because it is not in violation of any protected class under the law. Smoking is not considered a disability or a handicap, and that would be the closest thing to protection against unequal insurance premiums.
Again, this seems unbalanced and unfair to you, but it is still not illegal.
Amazing how we have these "anti-discrimination" laws and THEN you have to spell out who is protected by it. Discrimination IS discrimination.
Legal doesn't make it right either. |
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Lynda F
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by JoshNJ
on Mon Oct 27, 2008 3:57 pm |
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Lynda F wrote: JoshNJ wrote:
Unfortunately for you, at this particular time it is legal for the insurance companies to impose higher premiums for individuals that smoke. It is not discrimination because it is not in violation of any protected class under the law. Smoking is not considered a disability or a handicap, and that would be the closest thing to protection against unequal insurance premiums.
Again, this seems unbalanced and unfair to you, but it is still not illegal.
Amazing how we have these "anti-discrimination" laws and THEN you have to spell out who is protected by it. Discrimination IS discrimination.
Legal doesn't make it right either.
I did not mean to offend you or anyone else by explaining the definition of discrimination. Some people are just not aware of what types of negative discrimination is allowed and illegal. I should have stated that this type of action is not illegal negative discrimination as there are types of discrimination which are positive and legally permissible.
I was simply answering the questions of the OP since nobody else was answering them directly. Whether something that is legal isn't right is a matter of opinion, but this person wasn't asking how people feel about this or whether they think they should quit their job. The fact remains that what this insurance company is doing is within their right because it is not illegal discrimination. |
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JoshNJ
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