No cost to bans on smoking
We have this warning for those thinking about seeking money from the 2009 session of the Kansas Legislature. Prepare yourself for disappointment. One would have more luck squeezing orange juice from a brick than getting any funds from lawmakers.
That’s a troubling prediction, considering how poor and middle-class families are getting hammered these days. High fuel, food and utility costs are reducing money available for other important things.
One of those essentials is health care, where state and federal governments have a duty to help because they created the health care mess in the first place. Now they have the duty to assist the less fortunate in getting adequate care.
As reported by the Associated Press, the state agency developing health care policy has several recommendations for lawmakers to the crisis. The Kansas Health Policy Authority’s proposals include higher tobacco taxes and a statewide ban on smoking in public places.
The authority also is pushing for large increases in spending on health care programs. The new package would phase in a $243 million increase in spending over four years, most of it to cover an expansion of Medicaid coverage for parents. The group recommends paying for programs with additional taxes on tobacco products.
Legislative leaders will not welcome those proposals, despite the impact of rising health care costs to Kansans. The uninsured are not the only ones affected. Those lucky enough to have insurance are paying higher premiums, higher deductibles and more out-of-pocket expenses.
Even steps with little budget impact are having a difficult time getting through the Legislature. Consider that health care facilities, like Salina Regional Health Center, cannot ban smoking from public sidewalks surrounding its campus. In some areas, patients and visitors cannot step out for a breath of fresh air without walking through clouds of smoke.
Similar situations exist elsewhere, where places like restaurants cannot protect customers coming and going from their businesses.
If lawmakers won’t help Kansans with health care costs, then the least they can do is ban smoking in certain public areas. It won’t cost anything to implement, but it will provide clear health benefits.
Related posts:
- Smoking ban will save lives, improve health
- State’s Anti-Smoking Plan Makes Cents
- Quit Smoking, Save a Grand?
- Pass a true public smoking ban
- Statewide smoking ban proposed in Missouri
Tags: Smoking ban