Utah to explore penalties for smokers on Medicaid

a Utah lawmaker has a message for smokers on Medicaid. If you want to use tobacco, go right ahead. but you?re going to pay ? and with more than your health. Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, is sponsoring legislation that would impose higher co-payments on tobacco-using Utahns enrolled in the low-income health insurance program. The measure may be a first nationally though other states have, in recent years, passed laws requiring applicants for food stamps, cash assistance and Medicaid to undergo and pay for drug testing. The rationale: Taxpayer money shouldn?t support someone?s drug habit. Ray voices the same sentiment, saying, ?I?m not trying to be mean to smokers. but people who are voluntarily putting their health at risk ought to pay more toward their health care.? Equally important, says Ray, is the imperative to snuff out tobacco use. ?This will give [enrollees] another reason to quit,? says Ray, who has pushed several anti-smoking policies over the years, including the most recent tobacco tax hike, which he says drove a decline in Utah cigarette sales. ?We sold 10 million fewer packs of cigarettes in 2010, and calls to the quit line increased,? he says. Story continues below Insurance penalties are in [...]

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