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ARTICLE · 07 FEBRUARY 2014

If You're Going To Light Up, Pay Up

Fisher Phillips LLP
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Employees who smoke cost U.S. companies $6,000 more per year than their tobacco-free counterparts, according to a study released this summer by Micah Berman of Ohio State University.

United StatesEmployment and HR
Tabatha George
Tabatha George
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Is charging smokers more for healthcare really legal?

Employees who smoke cost U.S. companies $6,000 more per year than their tobacco-free counterparts, according to a study released this summer by Micah Berman of Ohio State University. Smokers are associated with higher rates of absenteeism, lower productivity, and higher healthcare costs. Given these statistics, it's no wonder that employers and insurance companies are looking for ways to encourage employees to quit using tobacco.

Education and wellness programs have become commonplace. And, it is legally possible to charge smokers more for their healthcare premiums than non-smokers. Indeed, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (the ACA) encourages such policies by allowing employers and insurers to give larger incentives to participants who are non-smokers (or who quit smoking) than incentives based on other health factors such as obesity or high blood pressure.

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