alt Hacker News> we'll immediately be at the point where smokers, alcoholics, obese people etc. should pay more, after all, their way of life statistically causes higher costs.
Wait, do they not? I genuinely assumed they did. I remember when I got private insurance through my work I had to fill in some questionnaire. It was "free", but it was a taxable benefit so you knew how much you were costing the company and me and my friends had different rates.
I wonder what the actual statistics are when it comes to costs with active people that are more likely to be injured vs obese people that are less likely to be injured but more likely to suffer obesity related illnesses.
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>> we'll immediately be at the point where smokers [...] should pay more, after all, their way of life statistically causes higher costs.
> Wait, do they not?
Why should they? It's not obvious at all that smoking causes higher costs; a smoker who gets lung cancer is a smoker who never needs the medical care we give to the elderly.
Private life insurance may. I don't think health insurance generally does. Certainly Medicare doesn't ask about any of those things.
Health insurance premiums used to be different based on whether or not you smoked; maybe they still are. It would still be nice if you could lower your health insurance premiums by losing weight or buying a policy that didn’t cover mountain bike injuries or whatnot.