Do any current proposals either allow healthy lifestyle discounts/incentives or permit higher premiums for unhealthy choices such as smoking?
Tobacco use is one of the five factors that may be used to determine premium prices for health insurance plans in both bills. In addition, both the House and Senate bills allow insurers to offer incentives for healthy lifestyles, wellness programs and other preventive measures. In fact, wellness and health lifestyle incentives are seen as a key means of incentivizing healthy behavior. At the same time, patient advocates continue their efforts to assure that individuals with chronic illnesses and/or genetic conditions are not subject to inappropriate discrimination. Like many issues, incentives, discounts or higher premiums would depend on the insurance coverage plan an individual selects.
