One consequence of the Affordable Care Act was federal permission for each state to charge smokers up to 50 percent more for their health insurance, even though the federal healthcare law was designed to make insurance more affordable for low-income individuals in 2014 and beyond. Statistically, more low-income individuals are smokers when compared to higher-income individuals, making a surcharge on smoking seemingly counterproductive.
In California, the issue of whether to burden smokers with a higher-cost California health insurance plan has been taken up by the legislature, and all signs point to them refusing to charge more for smokers than anyone else. If it’s too expensive for low-income smokers, they might forego California medical insurance altogether. Fortunately, insurance plans from major carriers like Anthem Blue Cross or Blue Shield of California typically offer smoking cessation plans, so the costs and loss of productivity associated with smoking could go down as insured smokers find it affordable to seek treatment.