Letter to the editor

February 23, 2007 12:30 am

— From the HIP

Governor Mitch Daniels recently proposed his Healthy Indiana Plan (HIP) to improve the health of all Hoosiers by reducing smoking rates, increasing access to needed childhood immunizations, and providing health coverage for the uninsured. These health initiatives would be funded by 100 percent of the revenues from an increase in the price of cigarettes in the following ways: $24 million to initiate an aggressive smoking cessation and reduction campaign, aimed especially at reducing the number of kids who smoke; $11 million for childhood immunizations; and the remaining revenues to establish a program that offers health insurance to 120,000 or more low-income Hoosiers (depending on how high the tax on cigarettes is raised).
Why is HIP important?
Indiana has the second highest smoking rate in the country. More than $1 billion per year is spent in Indiana on smoking-related health care. Indiana Medicaid spends more than $400 million on smoking-related health care costs.
The 2005 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey showed that 27.1 percent of adult Hoosiers smoked. And, 49.3 percent of uninsured Hoosiers are current smokers. These rates won’t drop as long as Indiana has some of the cheapest cigarettes in America. Our current tax on cigarettes is 55.5 cents, which ranks us as having the 36th lowest tax in the nation. We must increase this tax to prevent teens from smoking and encourage adults to quit.
How will HIP work?
Economic research shows us that for every 10 percent increase in the real price of cigarettes, teen smoking declines by 7 percent and adult smoking declines by 4 percent. Considering that 90 percent of smokers start as teenagers, and teens are highly sensitive to price, higher priced cigarettes will reduce youth smoking rates. Increasing the tax on cigarettes by at least 25 cents will generate at least $120 million in new revenues.
HIP would save Hoosier health care dollars and makes good sense by protecting the health of children from smoking and disease, encouraging preventative care, and offering insurance to thousands of Hoosiers. HIP would also help promote personal responsibility for health and lays a foundation for more affordable health care costs and financing.
So, stay healthy and be HIP.

Tina Hoeing
Community Action Coalition