We have tried to quit smoking manytimes over the years and failed. Our health is of course the mainissue but this past January our insurance company started to chargeus an additional 100.00 (each) every month because we are smokers.That was a big incentive to quit. My husband notified his work todaythat we had quit smoking to learn what he needed to do to notify theinsurance when we made it to zero nicotine. He was notified that evenat zero nicotine we will still be considered smokers if we vape!Uggg, so frustrating!
Today I need to vent!
- Thread starter TAT191
- Start date
- th_trl_thread_readers 0
- Status
My insurance is similar in that there is a higher deductible/copay for smokers. The options are to refuse to test and automatically be placed in the highest cost insurance option, or test for nicotine and be charged for insurance at the smokers rate if you test positive. The only way to get the better insurance is to test negative for nicotine. Since it is based on a nicotine test it doesn't matter if you smoke, chew tobacco, use snus or use any nicotine tobacco cessation product...if there is nicotine in your system you are stuck with the "smokers" insurance rate.
My question.....how the heck can your insurance charge higher for vaping if you are truly at 0% nicotine? With no nicotine in your system how would they even know that you vape?
My question.....how the heck can your insurance charge higher for vaping if you are truly at 0% nicotine? With no nicotine in your system how would they even know that you vape?
Last edited:
Welcome to the bureaucracy of insurance companies. It's not logical, informed, nor fair. Insurance companies see a loophole to charge higher prices and are taking full advantage of it.
If one only vapes 0 nic, and it really is 0 nic, the insurance company will never know, short of the insured telling them...
Kbennett65, we were not given the option to be tested. At this point we would still test positive anyways. But he vapes at work so his HR people will see him. Maybe at some point he will be at a point where he can go all day without it but I think it will be a while. Then there is the problem of someone from work seeing him in public, so if they say vaping is smoking we just have to live with it. I was just taken by surprise. It makes me angry that they would penalize people for trying to improve their own health. It's so sad.
This might be a situation where you could contact CASAA, and get the ammo for an appeal of the policy. Cotinine testing should surely be the answer.
A fairer test would be a Co2 level test, this test will show if you smoke tobacco. Vaping produces the same Co2 test results as a non smoker as nothing is being burnt to produce Co2. Definitely its just a way they can justify an excessive charge and make more money.
Welcome to America, where we are one of the only countries where it's legal to be so profitable off of insurance.
What countries have private insurance companies which operate as charities?
- Status
Similar threads
