Support cigarette tax, and keep the benefits flowing
Published 6:00 am Friday, February 4, 2005
Dear Editor,
The Mississippi Democratic Club is urging state leaders to seethat no Mississippian is cut from the Medicaid program.
It is inconceivable that state leaders would consider balancingthe budget by removing health care from the sickest, poorest andthe most vulnerable people in Mississippi – the elderly anddisabled.
We urge Mississippians to contact their legislators to push forpassage of the proposed legislation to increase the cigarette taxto enable us to provide continued coverage for our Poverty Level,Aged and Disabled Medicaid recipients (PLADs). The current stateexcise tax on cigarettes is 18 cents, the lowest in the nation. Theaverage state excise tax is 84 cents. No new taxes is not thesolution!
In one of the poorest states in the country, where one in fourMississippians are on Medicaid, one would think that our governorand the Legislature could come up with a better idea to balance thebudget than lopping 65,000 poverty level aged and disabled humanbeings from the medical care and medication they need. We call uponour state legislature to stand up for a cigarette tax.
Until health care is made affordable for everyone, it isunconscionable to strip these Mississippians from coverage. It is adeath sentence for many. How can we accept this decision from agovernor who pledges “no new taxes,” who won’t tax cigarettes oraffluent friends but will cut poor people off from medicalcare?
Depriving the elderly, disabled, children and poverty levelMississippians of health care is not the way to balance the statebudget. We urge you to join with us to help our people by callingyour legislator today to support the cigarette tax.
Ann Williams, co-chairwoman
Mississippi Democratic Club