FLORIDA BRINGS IN LESS MONEY THAN MOST STATES FROM TOBACCO SALES

Florida’s currently cigarette user fee is 34 cents per pack, ranking it 46^th among the 50^th states and the District of Columbia. Florida has not increased its fee rate since 1990, while 43 states have raised their rates since 2002, increasing the overall average state cigarette user fee to $1.19 per pack.

CIGARETTES COST FLORIDA MONEY AND LIVES

Tobacco use imposes enormous costs on our state.  The burden on the Medicaid program alone exceeds $1 billion annually.  Total smoking-related health costs are nearly $5 billion per year, with the combined costs - including lost productivity - exceeding $11 billion.  This year, 45,000 Floridians will die from smoking-related illnesses.

A $1 INCREASE PER PACK OF CIGARETTES WOULD BOOST STATE REVENUE AND GET FLORIDIANS HEALTHIER

An additional $1 fee per pack in Florida would generate an estimated $1.055 Billion in additional revenue in 2009-10 alone, according to the Florida Legislature’s economists. This could significantly increase access to health care, both directly (through expansion of programs and increases in services) and indirectly (by providing critically-needed increases in physician reimbursement rates under the Medicaid program).

The Healthy Florida Alliance proposes the following uses for increased cigarette revenue:

·         Medically Needy:  A dedicated source of revenue for short-term coverage for low-income patients with no other way of paying their catastrophic medical bills.

·         Prenatal care: Increase the income eligibility limit for pregnant women and their unborn children.

·         MEDS-AD: Expands health coverage for seniors and persons with disabilities not eligible for Medicare, all with incomes below 88% of poverty level. 

·         KidCare: Provide healthcare coverage for more of Florida’s 800,000 uninsured children.

·         Access to doctors and specialists for very low-income: By increasing reimbursement rates to doctors who accept Medicaid patients, more low-income children and families will have access to health coverage.

In every state where an increase in the cigarette user fee has passed, it has BOTH consistently increased revenue AND reduced smoking rates.

For more information, please visit www.healthyfloridaalliance.org or call 561-691-4062.