Health Insurance

[jerzi]

I heard that at a certin age, health insurance companies will have you complete a physical and also have blood work done, that includes testing the blood for nicotine to see if you are using tobacco products. I was wondering if they have a stance on ecigs or a nicotine replacement system or if anyone has ran into this situation?

 

[jSquared]

Here's a recent thread that may be of interest:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-not-alone-anymore-health-insurance-game.html

JJ

 

[jerzi]

Here's a recent thread that may be of interest:

http://www.e-cigarette-forum.com/fo...-not-alone-anymore-health-insurance-game.html

JJ

Thanks, appreciate it.

 

[rockstar1321]

Our company does annual check ups but they don't really care if we are using tobacco or not. Just some friendly reminders to keep us healthy though. I am sure there are a lot of companies now who have their stance when it comes to using ecigs since it is becoming popular nowadays but I am not really sure if popular insurance companies knows about this issues though.

 

[jerzi]

I heard it lowers your rate if you don't have tobacco users in your group plan, I could be wrong though.

 

[yerdreamsrequiem]

It depends on the insurance plan. To my knowledge, no insurance company charges you for using a smoking cessation device, but e cigs don't technically fall into that category, in order to keep them from being tested by the FDA, thereby raising the cost of e cigs to something that would be counter-productive.

However, my mentality has always been that the can't really tell whether I'm using ecigs or the gum. It's all nicotine that gets absorbed into the blood stream. So when I'm asked, I tell them I use the gum. That way, when they do a blood test, the nicotine in my blood has a valid excuse. I've never seen a rate increase, anyways.

 

[iceman68]

Most (if not all) health insurance plans charge higher premiums to smokers. I've wondered how involved the process would be to prove you are no longer a smoker in order to reduce the premium. I think some insurance companies require 12 months tobacco-free to be considered a non-smoker. Surely they would want verification from a doctor or test results to confirm. But with vaping there will still be nicotine in the system so I don't know how that would work. I'm aware that nicotine is present in certain foods so from what I understand most people will test positive for nicotine. Maybe it depends on the level of nicotine in your blood?

I'm just curious about this. Sure would be nice to inform my insurance company that I'm now a non-smoker and be rewarded with a lower premium.

 

[Calivapr123]

Some companies will run nicotine tests to determine if you are a smoker or not. I have read recently that it takes about a week of not having nicotine in your body before it will not show up on nicotine tests.

 

[ruxpin810]

i made the mistake of telling them i'm a smoker thinking they would detect it in my blood anyway so i was automatically charged a higher premium just cuz i told them i was a smoker. i plan on getting reevaluated soon now that i stopped smoking since i have been smoking 0mg for a while now.

 

[MiamiGuy]

Currently at my workplace, employees who identify themselves as "non-tobacco" users receive a monthly discount of $61 on their medical insurance rate. Effective January 1, 2014, the "non-tobacco" user discount will no longer be automatically assessed. In order to qualify for a premium discount, only those who test negative for cotinine (nicotine) and participate in "the program" [see below] could qualify for the new wellness incentive discount.

In order to qualify for the wellness incentive and receive the discount on medical rates, employees will be required to pass the cotinine (nicotine) test as well as participate in the following:

* Onsite Biometric Screenings - October 2013
* Health Risk Assessment (HRA) - November 2013
* Wellness Program Online Portal registration

The biometric screening in October will include screening for total cholesterol, glucose, blood pressure, height/weight, BMI, as well as cotinine (nicotine) testing. While there is no "pass or fail" component to the Biometrics or HRA participation, employees will be required to participate and test negative for cotinine (nicotine) in order to qualify for the wellness incentive discount. My employer will not receive any medical or diagnostic information. The firm will simply receive a pass report. It is important to understand that employees can still test negative for cotinine (nicotine) and get a "fail" result if they neglect to take the HRA or enroll on the wellness portal. Full participation is required to receive the wellness incentive discount.

Employees are not required to participate in the wellness incentive discount program in order to receive medical coverage. However, in order to receive the incentive premium discounts, employees must meet the requirements of the wellness incentive discount program. The wellness incentive discount will be increased to $75 in 2014.

***********​

So that's the new policy where I work. I quit smoking cigarettes over 3 weeks ago and switched to an e-cigarette (with nicotine). According to the Nicoderm (nicotine patch) website, it takes 7-10 days for cotinine to clear the bloodstream. So if I want to participate in the new wellness program and pass the cotinine test, I'd have to cease ingesting nicotine 10 days before taking the test.

I'm already paying the extra $61/month as a smoker, so what's another $14/month? (And I'm now saving money on not buying cigarettes, besides.) I haven't yet decided whether to participate. (I'll see my doctor before October and we'll talk about it. Don't know whether I even like the idea of having this type of blood-testing at the workplace--seems like they're horning in on the doctor-patient relationship.)

 

[boltcigs]

I'm sure insurance companies would charge more if they had proof that e-cigs lowered your quality of health. About the only thing they can do is group it together with all the tobacco products at a higher rate, which I'm sure is probably the way they will go. If you were a greedy company and people were using these, you'd think, "hey, opportunity is knocking at the door!"