[The Great RJ]

This is the death panel mentality. You as an elderly smoker aren’t worth the resources needed to diagnose or treat you. The same mentality will soon be denying seniors hip replacements, pacemakers, cancer treatment etc. because the government doesn’t deem you worthy of life. The Nazis used the same cost to the government argument to euthanize the elderly and handicapped.

[Mike Darancette]

Didn’t there used to be busses that went around to different places and offered chest x-rays?

[logi_cal869]

I quit smoking YEARS ago.

I refuse to accede to paying for a smoker’s medical treatment.

The penalty of higher premiums should be as proportional for smokers as other factors when rating medical premiums. Former smokers can pay for their own damned screenings, just as will I.

[publius911]

Every person covered by Medicare would shell out an additional $3 a month if the government agreed to pay to screen certain current and former smokers for lung cancer, a new study estimates.
It would cost Medicare $2 billion a year to follow recent advice to offer these lung scans—and fuel angst about rising health costs that are borne by everyone, not just smokers, the study found. […]

Might this suggest that a massive audit and accounting nationwide and within every state is in order?

The massive tobacco settlement and the current supermassive federal and state taxes were promoted, advertised, endorsed by virtually every elected politician in company of the original "meathead," precisely to address this fraudulent rising health costs that are borne by everyone, not just smokers, found by this fraudulent study"

These massive new funds have been spent on all manner of non-smoking related pet political projects including the sacred AIDS-addled special protected class, which, incidentally happen to also be a lifestyle of choice.

Ever wonder why tobacco products weren't simply banned from production and sale?
This is particularly onerous in view of the national celebration of the legitimization of the universally popular marijuana culture.

Might dozens of class action suits be in order to demand an accounting of where all the money went?

This exploitation, legal extortion of a clearly selected segment of the population mocks the concept of equal Constitutional protection.

Might it be possible to consider taxing morbidly obese people to cover their very narrowly identified medical costs? A 500% tax on junk food and junk drinks (similar to the tobacco strategy,) would be a good start.

Time for that beached whale, Rob Reiner, to get a taste of his own medicine!