Page 42 Healthy Cells Magazine Peoria June 2014

Q. Can my insurer charge me a higher premium because I use

electronic cigarettes?
A. The rules arent clear, but some insurers may try to do so.
Under the health law, insurers who sell plans on the individual mar-
ket can take into account only four factors when determining some-
ones premium: age, geographic location, family size, and tobacco use.
People who use tobacco can be charged up to 50 percent more than
non smokers.
Under the rules, use of any tobacco product four or more times a
week on average in the past six months could subject someone to the
tobacco surcharge. Ten states either prohibit or restrict insurers from
applying the tobacco surcharge in the individual market, according to
the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.
So are e-cigarettes tobacco products? The battery-powered
devices simulate cigarette smoking, producing a smoke-like vapor
that usually contains nicotine and flavoring agents. The Food and Drug
Administration recently proposed regulating e-cigarettes, just as it does
regular cigarettes and cigars. The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid
Services is looking into the use of e-cigarettes and the tobacco sur-
charge, according to an agency official.
In a recent review of research on e-cigarettes, researchers at the
University of California-San Francisco found that, although the long-
term health effects of e-cigarettes are still largely unknown, they emit
potentially harmful substances into the air and can be a source of
Will Using Electronic Cigarettes
Affect My Insurance Rates?
By Michelle Andrews, Insuring Your Health
health insurance
indoor pollution. The researchers also found that e-cigarettes actu-
ally reduce the likelihood that people will quit smoking, in contrast to
advertising claims that firing up an e-cig will help people kick the habit.
The potential role of e-cigarettes as a smoking cessation tool has
insurance coverage implications too. The health law requires most
health plans to cover FDA-approved smoking cessation products and
counseling without any out-of-pocket cost to consumers. The federal
government recently released guidance clarifying which services and
products must be covered.
Since e-cigarettes arent FDA-approved for quitting smoking and
in fact are considered by the agency to be tobacco products that war-
rant regulation like cigarettes they arent covered as a free preven-
tive benefit under the law.
But more specific guidance may be needed. The Affordable Care
Act does not specify e-cigarette use for purposes of cessation cover-
age or tobacco surcharge application, says Catherine McMahon, pol-
icy principal at the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
The lack of clarity may allow health plans to try to add the surcharge
for e-cigarettes.
Michele Andrews has several articles under her Insuring Your
Health series for the Kaiser Health News. For more of her articles,
visit: kaiserhealthnews.org.
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