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mokers across the country are starting to face fees other than just the cost of a pack of cigarettes.
In some workplaces, smokers are paying higher rates than nonsmokers for the health insurance provided by their employers. The trend has been ignited by concerns over the cost of treating smoking-related illnesses.
The Free Lance-Star may be the only large, local company that has linked smoking to the cost of its employees' health insurance.
Employees who smoke pay an extra $10 per two-week pay period for health insurance. The fee, which applies to all employees who receive benefits, is waived for nonsmokers.
"Basically, we were trying to reward the employees who did not smoke," said Kaye Burnett, benefits coordinator.
Other large, local companies contacted don't differentiate between smokers and nonsmokers when it comes to the cost of health insurance.
"We don't even ask if our employees smoke, so there's no difference when it comes to insurance," said Bob Jensen, director of human resources at MediCorp, the corporation that owns Mary Washington Hospital. Jensen said he doesn't think it's fair to ask personal questions of employees.
The University of Mary Washington is another major employer in the Fredericksburg area. Sherry Morgan, assistant director of human resources and benefits administration, said university employees get state benefits. The state does not levy additional fees for smokers.
GEICO and McLane Food Distribution, two other large employers in the area, don't differentiate between nonsmokers and smokers for their health insurance policies.
Gannett Co., a national media organization, began a policy similar to The Free Lance-Star's this year, said Tara Connell, vice president for corporate communications at Gannett.
Connell said it's not an extra charge for smokers, but instead, a discount for those who don't smoke.
"There are different programs and policies based on a lot of different things that could make employee health insurance costs very different," she said. "But if they are a nonsmoker, they get $50 off" each pay period.
Spokespeople for The Free Lance-Star and Gannett said insurance costs are the main reason their companies started charging more for smokers.
"We're getting group rates, but when you start looking at claims, the people who are smokers have higher claims," The Free Lance-Star's Burnett said.
She said the company's Anthem insurance went up 14.8 percent this year. Except for the $10 fee, the company covers health-insurance costs for individual employees who are eligible for benefits.
"We're one of few companies that didn't charge [employees] for insurance," she said. Waiving the $10 payment for nonsmokers offers an incentive for employees to quit, she said.
Smokers not welcomeAccording to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, health care for smokers costs about $75.5 billion per year.
Some companies in other states have taken the smoking issue to the extreme--banning it altogether for employees.
Weyco Inc. in Michigan bans smoking for all employees, whether they're at work or not. If a current employee smokes, he or she could be fired, and those applying for jobs potentially might not be hired if they're smokers.
In Virginia, that's not allowed. According to the Tobacco Control Network, Virginia is one of 28 states that has a smoker-protection clause, meaning that employers cannot prohibit their employees from smoking outside the workplace.
Jeremy Gruber, legal director for the National Workrights Institute, said he thinks it's unfair for employers to try to regulate smokers, especially in stressful working conditions.
Gruber isn't complaining about employers charging employees for their health insurance, but he thinks it's discriminatory to charge some more than others.
"There shouldn't be a penalization for not maintaining [a healthy] diet and physical fitness. Employers need to accept that they contribute to the problem," he said. "Employers are asking employees to work longer hours, which is stressful."
Voluntary programs popularThough there's disagreement as to whether smoking employees should pay for their habit, a recent national trend among many companies is offering cessation programs, which aim at helping people to quit.
"We think employee programs should be voluntary," Gruber said. "Programs are good because employees want to be healthy. Employers should just give them the tools."
Although Mary Washington Hospital isn't linking smoking to insurance costs, it is concerned about employees' health. Hospital employees can't smoke on the premises, and Jensen said there are cessation programs for employees trying to quit.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention offers an online program for employers to put together their own cessation programs and tips on how to control tobacco use in the workplace. For more information or to view the program, visit cdc.gov.
To reach ELLEN BILTZ:
Email: ebiltz@freelancestar.com
