That's ok. It's just that I am so fired up over this article!!! I really didn't think you meant ME!!! 
Posted on 12/14/2006 12:54:16 PM PST by SheLion
AUGUSTA - Mainers on Medicaid who smoke would be offered incentives to stop smoking and could face sanctions for not quitting under a measure being introduced by Sen. John Martin, D-Eagle Lake.
"There is a connection between the health of individuals and the fact that they are still smoking," Martin said. "One of the questions that came out of discussions I had with physicians is why we are as a state, and the federal government, paying the health care cost of people that are smoking two and three packs a day."
The Medicaid program serves about 262,000 Mainers at an estimated cost of $2.2 billion a year, with the state paying about $872 million of that total.
Martin said the state should consider both incentives and penalties to get Mainers on the state Medicaid program, called Mainecare, who are smoking to stop. He said Mainecare currently offers smoking cessation programs at no charge to recipients, so the state needs to consider additional steps to encourage Medicaid recipients to quit smoking.
"You could put a sliding fee on those who [continue to smoke] so that they will have to pay a portion of the bill when they go see a medical professional, a doctor or whoever," he said. "I am not sure which way to go on this. I want to go with what is the most successful way to get people to stop" smoking.
Martin said there are some co-pays already assessed to some Medicaid recipients. He said an option would be to waive those payments for nonsmokers.
Ed Miller, the CEO of the American Lung Association of Maine, said Martin’s proposal deserves consideration. He said statistics indicate smoking among Medicaid recipients is higher than among all Mainers.
"Senator Martin is raising the right issue," Miller said. "I think we need to talk about this and what can be done to move this situation even faster. We have seen some positive results, but not as fast as any of us would like."
Miller said his group has long advocated for increased efforts targeting smokers for intensive programs to educate them to the dangers of smoking and to help them quit.
Miller said the smoking problem is far more serious among the low-income population served by the Medicaid program than among all Mainers.
As an example he pointed out that "somewhere around 35 percent of pregnant women on Mainecare are still smoking. That compares to less than 10 percent among all women that are pregnant."
Miller agreed with Martin that smoking contributes to too many of the health problems found in poor Mainers and that the state needs to address the disparity between poor Mainers and the rest of the state’s population.
While acknowledging there is a problem, Chris Hastedt, an advocate with Maine Equal Justice Partners, said Martin’s approach would not be the most effective.
Hastedt said that even though her organization advocates for Maine’s poor, it supported increases in the tax on cigarettes in part because the higher price is a smoking deterrent to poor Mainers. "That kind of approach — that is, increasing the cost of a product that is wreaking havoc with the health of the people of Maine — is the right approach," Hastedt said.
She said Martin’s proposed penalties would make a bad situation worse by making it more difficult for the poor to get needed health care.
"The goal is to improve health, and I don’t see how sanctions would help do that," she said.
Shenna Bellows, executive director of the Maine Civil Liberties Union, said the state should not turn Medicaid workers into "smoking police." She said punishing smokers amounts to "lifestyle discrimination" by the state.
"If the state wants to address the challenge of smoking, there are alternative ways that may not infringe on people’s individual liberties or private lives," she said. "The state could raise taxes on cigarettes without unduly interfering with people’s lives or engaging in lifestyle discrimination."
Martin said he expects his proposal will be controversial, but said the issue is too important to go unaddressed.
"I want to find a solution," he said. "We need to address this and we can’t continue to not do anything about it."
If you expect someone to pay for your medical care, you give them a degree of control over your life. It's a good reason we should never have socialized medical care.
However, he is legitimately a "non-smoker", though ! HA !
I used to watch Don Imus. He was always chewing Nicorette gum. The day I tuned in, one of the guys ask him how many sticks he chewed a day.............he said "Oh, about 15."
The guy laughed and said "Well, why did you quit smoking then?" LOL
THANK you!
The figures are astounding. Smokers should quit just to take the revenue out of the pot.
Which prompts a question - why not legalize pot and tax the h*ll out of it. Share the burden!
Well, from what I hear, Maine is FULL of pot AND meth!!! These peoole sure don't pay taxes on those two, do do?!
heh!
I was not referring to you at all, my apologies if it came across like that.
That's ok. It's just that I am so fired up over this article!!! I really didn't think you meant ME!!!
Because it's far healthier to chew the gum and only ingest nicotine then it is to pollute your lungs and ingest hundreds of toxins, some of which might even make you feel like barfing.
By lighting a bonfire in front of your face, of course.
It would be cleaner and more honest to outlaw the sale of tobacco in the state, instead of trying to balance the impossible dream of using these people as an additional source of revenue again.
Smokers just help keep SS solvent.
Well, Maine can't balance their budget without the smoker's tax dollars! What do you suggest Maine lawmakers do????
I am against singling out 25-30% of the people also, just because they smoke. But the lawmakers have their teeth sunk into us and they won't let go!!
Why don't they go after the killer alcohol???!!!!
Whaaaaaaat???? LOL
"I see dumb people"
Then stop looking in the mirror. Smoking, always a smart move. Smoking activist. Even smarter move. Thank-you for smoking.
Because politicians and reporters drink.
This Senator Martin might be a douchebag and a proponent of collectivism, Socialism and Authoritarianism in the name of the "public good"... but at least he's honest!
It's almost refreshing to hear someone admit the real reason the Nanny State favors these coercive measures to force people to be healthy whether they like it or not. They don't care if people drop dead and never require medical care. It's the chronic diseases that scare the crap out of them. Why?
Money. Billions and billions of health care dollars $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Senator Martin is a Socialist who at least has the guts to admit he's a Socialist. I have a lot more respect for him than I do the liars who use bogus studies on SHS to coerce people to quit by banning them from private establishments.
When they came for the employees of the oldest profession in the world, I did not speak out, as I had no interest in purchasing sex.
When they came for the purveyors of what was deemed to be "obscene" or "offensive", I did not speak out, as I was not a fan of Lenny Bruce or Howard Stern.
When they came to ban the female mammary gland from TV, I did not speak out, because Brian Boitano told me not to.
When they came for the people who don't wear seatbelts, I did not speak out, as I always wore my seatbelt.
When they came for the marijuana smokers, I did not speak out, as I was not a marijuana smoker.
When they came for the steroid users, I did not speak out, as I was not a steroid user.
When they came for the gun owners, I did not speak out, as I was not a gun owner.
When they came for the gamblers, I did not speak out, as I was not a gambler.
When they came for the cigarette smokers, I did not speak out, as I was not a smoker.
When they came for the overweight and the obese, I did not speak out, as I was not overweight or obese.
When they came for the drinkers (again), I did not speak out, as I was not a drinker.
Then they came for me...and there was nobody left to speak out.
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