Obamacare’s Tobacco Surcharges Slowed Universal Health Care in Study
Charges curbed rate of insurance enrollment for smokers and didn't cut down on smoking, Yale researchers say.
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The Affordable Care Act was meant to have a particular impact on smokers when it was enacted: It would shift the burden of high health-care costs from smoking ailments to the smokers themselves—17 percent of American adults in 2014. At the same time, the ACA would keep making progress toward the goal of universal health care, even for smokers.
It fell short on both goals in its first year, a study released Wednesday by the Yale School of Public Health found.