Vote yes on I 185: Support access to health care for 100,000 Montanans

As a physician who specializes in pediatric psychiatry, it became clear to me in my medical training that barriers to mental health care needed to be reduced to ensure access to care and treatment for all patients. Voting yes on I 185 is an important step in reducing barriers and improving health and access to treatment for all Montanans.

Misleading statements by the tobacco industry purposely confuse the facts about I 185. So far, tobacco companies have invested almost $12 million in an attempt to defeat I 185.

Here is what tobacco companies and the opponents of I 185 won’t tell you: Each year, 400 Montana children become addicted to nicotine. Tobacco companies have invented new products such as e-cigarettes and vaping products, which target our children and encourage their addiction to nicotine. Reports indicate that tobacco companies spent $30 million dollars last year to market their products to Montana children.

As a pediatric psychiatrist, I spend a large portion of my day talking with children and adolescents about substance abuse. Nicotine is one of the leading substances abused by our youth. It is challenging to discuss the devastating effects of tobacco with a child. They are focused on the here and now — and their denial and addiction prevents them from seeing the future effects of tobacco, including lung disease and other tobacco related illnesses. Tobacco costs our state $440 million annually in healthcare costs; tobacco-related illnesses kill 1,600 Montanans each year.

Voting yes on I 185 will increase the state cigarette tax by $2 per pack and add a similar tax to other tobacco-related products such as e-cigarettes. It is estimated that the tax and higher cost of cigarettes will contribute to a decrease in youth smoking by 20 percent.

As you might expect, tobacco companies have profit motives to defeat I 185. In their negative and misleading ads they never mention the word “tobacco.” Tobacco companies, and those influenced by their profits, attempt to scare voters with misleading statements about how the money will be spent so they can protect their billions of dollars of profits.

The Montana Office of Budget and Program Planning determined that I 185 is budget neutral. Unless you are a smoker, it will not add a penny to your taxes.

The tobacco tax was never intended to pay for all of Medicaid expansion. Medicaid expansion costs $60 million. The tobacco tax will pay $26 million. The state saves $31 million by getting the 9-to-1 match through Medicaid expansion versus traditional Medicaid.

The state match for the federal dollars for traditional Medicaid is 35 cents of every dollar; the federal government pays the remaining 65 cents. Under Medicaid expansion the rate is 10 cents for the state and 90 cents for the federal government. Additionally, those who qualify for Medicaid expansion pay premiums resulting in an additional $4.5 million paid to the state.

This is not an unfunded mandate as tobacco companies allege. Here are the numbers: $26 million from the tax plus $4.5 million in premiums from those on Medicaid expansion plus $31 million from savings equals $61.5 million. Enough to cover the cost.

Montana has the highest rate of suicide in the country. Access to treatment can reduce death by suicide. Voting yes on I 185 will fund suicide prevention programs for our Montana veterans, as well as tobacco cessation programs. Tobacco related illnesses and addictions can affect every one of our family members and friends. All Montanans deserve access to these needed services.

Voting yes on I 185 funds vital programs for our state, contributes to reducing nicotine use in our children and provides access to medical care for 100,000 Montanans. This is why I 185 is endorsed and supported by the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association, the Montana Medical Association, AARP, and the Montana Hospital Association.

This is where you can help.

Please join me and my family and my medical colleagues to support essential and vital services for our fellow Montanans. Help save our children from a lifetime of addiction and illnesses. And help 100,000 Montanans maintain access to health care.

Vote yes on I 185.

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Dr. Keith Foster is a pediatric psychiatrist and the Medical Director of Psychiatry at Shodair Children’s Hospital