Quinn: Cigarette Tax Necessary To Avoid Deeper Cuts
By Chris Bentley in News on Apr 25, 2012 8:20PM
Gov. Pat Quinn played defense for his proposal to raise cigarette taxes, which met heavy resistance in Springfield last week from lawmakers skeptical of the governor’s plan to help close a $2.7 billion Medicaid gap.
The $674 million the $1-per-pack tax is expected to generate would offset proposed cuts to state healthcare programs, Quinn said, which already comprise the brunt of the governor’s plan.
“If we don’t succeed in the area of raising the price of cigarettes,” The Tribune quoted Quinn Tuesday, “then there will be pressure on cutting reimbursements or — perish the thought — trying to reduce education.”
Republican leaders in the state House and Senate issued a joint statement opposing any tax increases or “revenue enhancements” to address the budget gap. Members of the tobacco industry, some of whom filed a lawsuit again Cook County earlier this year for an “unconstitutionally vague” tax passed in the county’s 2012 budget, obviously oppose the proposed state tax. State Rep. Dan Brady (R-Bloomington) called the tax "not realistic."
Revenue expected from the tax hike roughly equals cuts in state pay to medical clinics and other Medicaid providers under Quinn’s plan, which Senate President John Cullerton and House Speaker Michael Madigan support. The plan also calls for eliminating a discount prescription program for seniors, and ejecting thousands of people from the insurance rolls by tightening eligibility standards.
Lawmakers are scheduled to conclude their spring session on May 31, and it’s set to be a bitter few weeks. Republicans are holding Quinn to his initial call for $2.7 billion in cuts to Medicaid without any tax increases. But even before the governor’s proposed $675 million slash in reimbursement rates to healthcare providers that treat Medicaid patients, many low-income-area hospitals and clinics are struggling to make ends meet.