LTE: Lewis’s latest criticism of I-185 comes up empty
Dave Lewis wrote an op-ed in which he mistakenly argued that I-185, which taxes tobacco to infuse $26 million to help Montana pay for Medicaid expansion and tobacco prevention, is a bad deal.
Unfortunately, Lewis does not propose an alternative mechanism to generate a single cent to help pay for Medicaid and smoking cessation. He only criticizes the creative thinking behind I-185.
Lewis would be helpful if he had a better idea than I-185. But, after 44 years in government, he comes up empty.
In our system, it is not only Medicaid recipients who sock it to taxpayers, as Lewis suggests, but anyone who takes medication, or gets a CT scan or knee replacement. Medical expenses in this country are paid by insurance and taxes, and that means my neighbor’s expensive MRI scan and knee replacement will increase medical costs—either in premiums or tax increases—for the rest of society.
It is in everyone’s interest to improve our medical system. To their credit, the proponents of I-185 provide a mechanism to partly fund Medicaid in Montana. That’s a lot more than Lewis provides in his critique. Until greater reforms can be enacted, initiatives like I-185 are a step forward.
Shame on Lewis for coming up empty on everything but criticism.
Marty Strong
Bozeman