Agent Owner, Gilmore Insurance Services, Marysville, Washington State
I'm not aware of any health insurance plans that require blood and/or urine tests to qualify for. That said, the information is usually available through past medical history and may be found in the MIB (Medical Information Bureau) or your current doctor's chart notes. The risk for someone who is a smoker and omits that information, is a cancelled policy. Usually this would occur at the worst possible time, during the filing of a large claim.
With smoking, some states do not apply the 2 year contestibility clause and consider a contract between the insurer and insured to never have existed, so premiums are refunded. While with health insurance you may not be tested for smoking, they reserve and you consent to the right for them to check your health history, so any doctor you've told or any treatment you've had the possibility would exist that there is a record of it.
Business Development Officer, T.D. McNeil Insurance Services, Fresno, California
With the passage of the Affordable Health Care Act insurance companies do little if any underwriting of health insurance policies. That being said, failure to answer a question honestly is always grounds for denial of a claim so honest is the best policy. Health insurance carriers rarely ask for medical tests as a part of any underwriting procedure.
With smoking, some states do not apply the 2 year contestibility clause and consider a contract between the insurer and insured to never have existed, so premiums are refunded. While with health insurance you may not be tested for smoking, they reserve and you consent to the right for them to check your health history, so any doctor you've told or any treatment you've had the possibility would exist that there is a record of it.