Obamacare allows steep surcharge for smokers - $5,100 on top of premiums

WASHINGTON — Millions of smokers could be priced out of health insurance because of tobacco penalties in President Obama’s health-care law, according to experts who are just now teasing out the potential impact of a little-noted provision in the massive legislation.

The Affordable Care Act — “Obamacare” to its detractors — allows health insurers to charge smokers buying individual policies up to 50 percent higher premiums starting Jan. 1, 2014.

For a 55-year-old smoker, the penalty could reach nearly $4,250 annually. A 60-year-old could wind up paying nearly $5,100 on top of premiums.

Younger smokers could be charged lower penalties under rules proposed in the fall by the Obama administration. Older smokers, though, could face a heavy hit on their household budgets at a time in life when smoking-related illnesses tend to emerge.

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