Montana Voters Could Extend Their Medicaid Expansion & Raise Tobacco Taxes

What the Initiative Does

Montana I-185 would eliminate the June 30, 2019 expiration date for expanded Medicaid eligibility and raise taxes on all tobacco products (including e-cigarettes and vaping products) to fund the expanded coverage with up to $26 million per fiscal year. Taxes would be increased $2 per pack, bringing the total taxes on a pack of cigarettes to $3.70 while all other tobacco products would be taxed at 33% of their wholesale price.

Revenue from the tobacco taxes would also go to smoking prevention & cessation programs (up to $3 million/yr), veterans’ services & suicide prevention (up to $2 million/yr), in addition to home and community-based Medicaid waiver services (up to $5 million/yr).

In Favor

I-185 ensures low-income Montanans will continue to have access to an expanded Medicaid by wisely raising taxes on tobacco products, which will also help fund anti-smoking programs and veterans’ services.

Opposed

Montana voters shouldn’t permanently expand Medicaid by taxing cigarettes and vaping products, as it would make it harder for the legislature to address parts of the expansion are ineffective or too costly.

In-Depth

Healthy Montana for I-185 argued that raising tobacco taxes to fund permanently expanded Medicaid eligibility would prevent “nearly 100,000 of our friends and neighbors from losing their existing health care coverage through Medicaid”, while reducing smoking rates to prevent premature deaths and funding veterans services.

David Moore, a former state lawmaker who voted in favor of the initial Medicaid expansion and current Republican candidate for the Montana House of Representatives, wrote the following in opposition to I-185:

“I-185 locks into place Montana’s existing Medicaid Expansion program while bypassing the evaluation the Legislature had in mind when we created the program and not allowing us to make the needed changes. I-185 eliminates the sunset provision, permanently locking in the current Medicaid Expansion law and stripping away the Legislature's plans to address costs, evaluate effectiveness and discontinue parts of the legislation that don't work.”

I-185 made it on the ballot after supporters submitted around 40,000 signatures, which yielded more valid signatures than the 25,468 required.

Under Obamacare, states were given the ability to expand their Medicaid program to cover individuals earning up to 138% of the federal poverty level with financial assistance from the federal government that decreased over time. From 2014-2016, the federal government covered 100% of the cost of expansion, which dropped to 95% in 2017 and is set to continue decreasing gradually to 90% in 2020.

— Eric Revell

(Photo Credit: iStock.com / LPETTET)