Employers Medical Insurance Change is Gonna Bite Me In The A$$

[CigarNut]

My employer is making a change in our medical plan such that smokers will have to pay an extra $50 per month. A person who smokes more than 6 cigars per year qualifies as a smoker. I understand the intent and even like the fundamental idea, but the specific implementation sucks.

We have to sign an Affidavit regarding our smoking status and there are stiff penalties if you are caught lying -- not that I would do that, but they make this very clear up front.

They got the "6 cigars per year" value from an insurance plan broker.

The one really interesting thing about this, is my wife (who works for the same company) is totally incensed over this (made me feel good). She does not hate my cigar smoking but she is not a fan. Her stance caught me by surprise.

This $50 increase is on top of the annual increase in our insurance (which has gone up significantly over the last three years).

It is disappointing that the real target audience (cigarette smokers) are tainting my hobby. Further, the cigarette smokers can take a smoking cessation class -- and fail to stop smoking -- and still have the $50 waived...

I really, really like my job and I really like cigars so it looks like my disposable income is going to take another hit... *sigh*