Stephanie Tracy, The Examiner
2007-02-17 08:00:00.0
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WASHINGTON -

Supporters and opponents of the House proposal to expand Medicaid access to children and adults by raising the cigarette tax by $1 per pack filled the committee room and spilled out into the hallway for the bill’s first legislative hearing.

The bill aims to reduce the number of people who are uninsured — an estimated 800,000 — in Maryland by about one third. Reducing the number of uninsured also could benefit insured residents who pay an estimated $1,000 annually in charges to cover uncompensated hospital care, said House Speaker Michael Busch, D-Anne Arundel, the chief sponsor of the House bill.

“We could reduce the cost to every Maryland family to $600,” Busch said. “This is a tax relief bill.”

Gov. Martin O’Malley also introduced a health care expansion bill designed to improve access by giving small businesses more pre-tax insurance options — and without raising the cigarette tax.

“Our concern is the issue of sustainability,” said Joe Bryce, the governor’s chief legislative adviser.

According to legislative analysts, the $1 increase in the tobacco tax that will be heard in the House Ways and Means Committee is estimated to bring in $212 million in the first year, $118 million in the second, and would decrease between 3 percent and 5 percent each year beginning in the third year as the number of smokers decreases.

– Stephanie Tracy