Illinois Governor Pat Quinn signed a dollar-a-pack cigarette tax increase that will go into effect for retailers June 24, 2012.
Senate Bill 2194, earmarks the money from the increase to help boost Medicaid funding in Illinois.
Read the bill at this link: http://www2.illinois.gov/hfs/SiteCollectionDocuments/09700SB2194enr.pdf
The increase is expected to provide $350 million plus another $350 million in federal matching funds to Medicaid. The bill also includes a new hospital assessment program that is expected to provide $100 million for Medicaid plus $480 million for hospitals.
A spokesperson for Gov. Quinn said the cigarette tax increase “will decrease smoking-related costs to Medicaid, which came to $1.5 billion last year, according to the American Cancer Society.”
Gov. Quinn signed the bill and several others as part of a package of reforms designed to reach his goal of saving $2.7 in Medicaid spending.
