State House Democrats want cigarette tax hike

INDIANAPOLIS -- Indiana House Democrats plan to introduce a health-insurance plan Wednesday that might include a proposed cigarette tax increase of 4.5 cents per pack -- far less than that sought by Republican Gov. Mitch Daniels -- to provide health coverage to more Hoosiers.\nDemocratic Rep. Charlie Brown of Gary, chairman of the House Public Health Committee, said Monday that the 4.5-cent increase was "very fluid" and the amount could change by the time his committee takes up a comprehensive health-care coverage plan and cigarette tax increase on Wednesday.\nDaniels wants lawmakers to increase the tax by at least 25 cents per pack, which could help provide health care for about 120,000 low-income residents. Brown has said he would prefer an increase of at least $1 per pack.\nBrown said a 4.5-cent increase would provide little new money to help those without health insurance. But he acknowledged that his strategy was to start off with a low number and then see how far Republicans who rule the Senate will go to bat for their own party's governor by raising the tax higher.\n"It (4.5 cents) will not make a dent, but we'll get some help from our Senate colleagues," Brown said.\nHis plan would address wellness and include a state insurance pool but would not provide specifics, he said.\nThe Daniels administration has said a 25-cent increase to the state's current rate of 55.5 cents per pack would generate an estimated $130 million a year for the state. Under the governor's plan, that money would be leveraged with federal funds and participants to raise $480 million in health care coverage for 120,000 adults earning less than double the poverty level for their households.\nMoney also would be spent on vaccinations for children and smoking prevention and cessation programs.\nA Senate committee has endorsed a version of the governor's plan, but it does not include money to pay for the program.\nThe plan would be available to people without employer-provided health insurance who earn less than double the federal poverty level, a sliding scale that is $9,800 for a single person and $20,000 for a family of four.\nDaniels and lawmakers have said that it will take bipartisan support to raise cigarette taxes. Democrats control the House 51-49, while Republicans have a 33-17 majority in the Senate.\nLongtime Rep. Jeff Espich, R-Uniondale, said Brown's strategy of proposing a minimal cigarette tax increase and then punting the issue to Senate Republicans was a "political game."\nHe said he was not convinced that a health-care plan would really help a lot of uninsured people, "nor am I convinced that only cigarette smokers should pay for it."\n"Maybe it ought to be potato-chip eaters or drinkers," he said.\nHe said many House Republicans were very lukewarm about the idea of state government trying to provide health care for more people.\n"We already provide health care through Medicaid for a sixth of Hoosiers," he said. "I think many of us begin to wonder at what point should government stop trying to be big daddy to everybody"