Short answer: Generally yes. Federal rules let a small-group insurer charge tobacco users up to 50% more (a 1.5:1 ratio), and Texas is not among the states that ban tobacco rating. Any surcharge a carrier uses must be applied uniformly, so check the carrier’s filed rates.
Under the ACA, a small-group insurer may charge tobacco users up to 1.5 times the non-tobacco rate. A handful of states ban tobacco rating entirely (California, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Washington, D.C.). Texas is not on that list.
Texas treats tobacco use as a health-status factor and requires that a carrier apply its rating practices uniformly to all members of a small employer. Whether and how a tobacco surcharge actually appears therefore depends on the specific carrier’s filed rates. Texas small-group premiums otherwise vary by the ages of employees and dependents (using the standard age curve) and the employer’s rating area.