Is it social discrimination to deny health insurance benefits to older employees?

Providing a conclusive answer to your question is difficult without knowing the full circumstances behind the reasons your employer is canceling your insurance. However, depending on the circumstances, it is possible you may have a claim for age discrimination.

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 was passed to protect workers over 40 from social discrimination, or discrimination against older workers as a group. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act specifies that covered employers can’t deny benefits to older workers based on age. So, if your employer is cutting the benefits of all older workers based upon their age, you may have a cause of action for age discrimination. However, if your employer is eliminating your benefits because you smoke, you likely do not have a case for discrimination since smokers are not specifically protected by any anti-discrimination legislation and the company has a legitimate (bona fide) reason for reducing benefits to smokers, since it costs more to ensure a smoker. 

Your best course of action would be to determine whether other older workers are also having their benefits cut, based upon their age. If they are, you may want to talk to an employment law attorney about wrongful age discrimination.