To help rescue Wisconsin's nearly $200 million Medicaid deficit, the state may literally pass the buck onto Wisconsin smokers.
More than 400 health care organizations launched a campaign Thursday in support of a proposal by Rep. J.A. Hines, R-Oxford, to raise the tax on cigarettes by $1, from 77 cents to $1.77 per pack.
Some of the additional revenue generated would go toward the Medicaid Trust Fund, which faces a $123.7 million deficit by June 30, while $15 million would be set aside for anti-smoking campaigns to help people quit.
However, UW-Madison senior Chrissy Klemens questions the effect the $1 increase would have.
\I'm definitely not happy the prices are going up,"" Klemens said. ""More expensive cigarettes is slightly an incentive not to smoke, but not really.""
Proponents of the proposal are quick to dispel the notion that this is a ""tax.""
""No one likes that three-letter word,"" said Maureen Busalacchi, executive director of SmokeFree Wisconsin. ""But if you call the [Wisconsin Tobacco] Quit Line and you can quit, you get a 100 percent tax break.""
Judy Omernik, president of SmokeFree Wisconsin, said in a statement, ""This isn't a tax issue for us. It's a health issue.""
But the tax issue is precisely what may doom this bill. Many Republicans in the Legislature are loath to pass anything that looks like a tax increase.
Assembly Speaker John Gard told the Wisconsin State Journal he will not support Hines' proposal. He thinks the state should reform Medicaid, not just fund what he feels is a faulty system.
However, Busalacchi said during a meeting with Gov. Jim Doyle and legislative leaders Thursday that ""the door is still open.""
-Michael Worringer
