We are writing to you as doctors, parents and citizens of our shared community. This fall, Initiative 185 is on the ballot and it will have an enormous impact on the health of Montanans.
Campaigning for a ballot initiative is not something we normally do – we’re doctors, not politicians or lobbyists. However, the potential health benefits of this initiative are so great, that we are compelled to act.
Big Tobacco is working hard to defeat this initiative, pumping $12 million to date into our state to support their cause. You have likely seen one of their many mailings claiming that I-185 is an “unfunded mandate” that will leave “all Montanans on the hook.”
This statement is a lie. Big Tobacco doesn’t want you to know the facts.
The truth about I-185:
• I-185 adds a $2 tax to a pack of cigarettes and places a new tax on other tobacco products – like e-cigarettes, vaping and Juul – that are specifically developed to target children.
• Medicaid expansion currently covers one in 10 Montanans. 80 percent of those Montanans – 100,000 people - are from working families.
• Together with patient-paid premiums and traditional Medicaid savings, I-185 would fully fund Medicaid expansion.
• As taxpayers, we pay $440 million each year to care for tobacco caused disease – that’s $779 for every household in Montana!
• I-185 also funds the Montana Veterans Home, suicide prevention programs for veterans, smoking cessation programs and health services to keep seniors independent in their homes.
As physicians, we see the health impacts of tobacco everyday. We are alarmed by the updated marketing of vaping to teenagers and youth, courtesy of Big Tobacco.
This is not a political battle, it is a battle for our public health. When our patients are at risk, we stand up for them. That’s our job.
We need your help. Our group of local physicians can’t win the fight against Big Tobacco on our own.
Share the truth. Talk to your neighbors, your friends and colleagues about I-185.
Vote YES on I-185.
Sincerely,
Nicole M. Finke, MD – Pathology, Medical Staff President
Kristin Anderson, MD - Family Medicine, Chair, Ambulatory Medicine
Eric Stern, MD – Pulmonology, Chair, Dept. Medicine
Thomas Randall, MD - Pediatrics, Chair, Credentials Committee
Bonnie Stephens, MD – Neonatology,Medical Director, NICU
Tim Provow, MD – Anesthesiology, Immediate Past President, Medical Staff
Janice Gomersall, MD - Family Medicine, Chair, Assistance Committee
Mike Stewart, MD – Radiology, President-elect, Medical Staff
Lauren Wilson, MD - Pediatric Hospitalist, Medical Director, Pediatric Serviceline
Paul Smith, DO - Pediatric Pulmonologist, Chair, Peer Review Committee
Mike Zehnfennig, MD – Surgeon, Chair, Trauma Committee
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