Who should pay?

Question

I just read a on line story that said that smokers& overweight people should pay more for insurance because they caused their own medical problems. Yes I used to smoke but havent in 30 years.yes I am over weight (55lbs). I have diebetes, renial failer of the left kidney, heart problems. So should I pay more for my insurance? What about people who take drugs(Illegal drugs),drunks Aids. Should they also have to pay more?

The illegal drugs show up in blood test. Aids is life style.

My main point was Do we want a goverment health plan that makes people pay more as their health gets worse.

Answer 1

Well, look at it this way. Insurance is all about grouping people together in similar risk groups, figuring out how much a year it's going to cost that particular group for claims, and dividing up the estimated claims projections between all the people in the group. So yes, high risk people grouped together should pay the same high risk premiums. That's why 16 year old kids pay a small fortune for car insurance, and a 40 year old man doesn't. In general.

Younger people pay less for life insurance than older people. It's common sense.

So IF you can find a company willing to cover what we all know right now, will be A LOT of medical bills this coming year, yes, you should pay more than a healthy person.

People who have Aids are usually not insurable AT ALL on a new policy. But yes, they should pay more. Drunks, well, that's harder to prove, but they should pay more, too (detox costs A LOT!!).

Answer 2

Proving that people are smoking, or taking drugs may be a little difficult. Overweight is hard to hide. However, many insurance policies will be rendered invalid if the holder was found to be taking illegal drugs.

They may not pay more, but they run the risk of having no insurance at all.

Answer 3

No way. All the people who want smokers and obese people to pay more assume that non-smoking skinny people's premiums will go down when they don't have to pay for other people's bad habits. Do they really think the insurance companies will give them a discount--or do you think they will just say 'thank you' and take more money from these high-risk groups, while still collecting high premiums from people who avoid these health risks.

Answer 4

Yes tough question:

smokers: hmm i can see yes they inflict on themselves. so yes. past smoker...yu have ralised ur mistakes, i dont think they count, health concerns might not have been around then.

illegal drugs: noones going to admit they do it so how would they get them. if somehow they find out they are using drugs, most definitely they too should pay!

drunks: YES! thats worse than smoking it think...so yes yes yes...more health and auto insurance!

aids: i dont agree, its a disease contracted in one single moment and you never know when. not everyone gets it from using needles! and if they do, then it goes to the drugs category above.

heres who i think also need to pay more: Obese people IF and only IF its not due to an underlying medical condition, and if nothing is being done to control it. nothing against obese people, and i know not everyone chooses it, i know many try eating healthy, living healthier, etc..but theres manty other who are obese due to their actions (eating junk, etc)...for the people with no reason, yes make them pay more too.

Answer 5

In theory, yes. But it would be impossible to prove.

I am healthily, take care of myself, and almost never go to the doctor. Why should I have to pay the same as everyone else?

Answer 6

no, all insurance claims should be pooled. you pay your share of the claims and expenses