Co-Founder, TermInsuranceBrokers.com, Goldenzweig Financial Group, Las Vegas, Nevada
Smokers are not denied access to Medicare. Using tobacco does not affect your Medicare eligibility or change the rates you pay for Original Medicare (Parts A & B). Eligibility for Medicare is based on age (unless qualifying due to disability or ESRD).
Using tobacco products can increase premiums for supplemental benefits (e.g. Medigap plans) if you're being medically underwritten, but not typically a major increase.
Please feel free to contact me for further assistance. Thanks very much.
They are not. Anyone telling you this was either seriously misinformed or really messing with your head. Tobacco usage has absolutely no bearing what so ever on a person's eligibility for Medicare nor are they subject to any penalty for being a tobacco user (other than the negative health effects associated with tobacco use).
That's a great question. I'm assuming that it is rhetorical, since Medicare is available to you whether you are puffing two packs a day, or don't smoke at all. If there were a reason why they would be denied a share of the Medicare pie, it would be because of the infinitely greater drain on the system that smokers cause. The health effects of smoking are horrible, and tremendously expensive. You can say the same thing for obesity, though, so you could answer the same for them. Thanks for asking!
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Using tobacco products can increase premiums for supplemental benefits (e.g. Medigap plans) if you're being medically underwritten, but not typically a major increase.
Please feel free to contact me for further assistance. Thanks very much.