Updated 4 hours ago NBC Universal, Inc. As COVID case numbers tick up again, but most people who are being hospitalized are among the unvaccinated, some people are floating the idea that health insurance companies could or should charge a premium for anyone who doesn't get the shot. "They do charge more for smokers, but that's really the exception and not the rule," said Brandeis University's Michael Doonan, the executive director of the Massachusetts Health Policy Forum. Our redesigned local news and weather app is live! Download it for iOS or Android — and sign up for alerts. Doonan said it would be difficult to charge a premium on an individual basis while the vaccines are under emergency use authorization -- even though the unvaccinated are costing insurers more.