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Arizona’s $50 Medicaid Fee for Smoking and Overweight: Effective? Ethical?

By: NWHF Staff | Posted on: May 31st, 2011 | Share:
Categories: Disparities • Economic Issues • Policies & Laws • Public Health

AZ Gov. Jan Brewer (center)

Arizona’s Medicaid program is considering adding a $50 tax on single patients who smoke or are overweight and decline to participate in a doctor-supervised weight-loss regimen. Program spokeswoman Monica Coury told MSNBC that the tax is intended to engage people to take better care of themselves.
The plan would have to be approved by the Republican-majority state legislature and also be authorized by the federal government.

“You need to be responsible for the fact that your smoking costs us more,” she said.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, almost half of all Medicaid recipients smoke and about one in four Arizonans is overweight.

In a New York Times story, Coury said “it’s a matter of fairness. We have an obligation to provide health care coverage to 1.35 million people. And we’ve got a budget crisis, so if there’s something you can do to help out — we’re just asking you to put a little more back into the system.”

In a conversation on the HLN Facebook page, the reactions were mixed. One repeated comment was that excess alcohol use is at least as much of a danger as to society as being overweight.

What do you think?

Should the cigarette companies and junk food producers bear any responsibility?