Smokers to Pay Medical Bills of Oregon Poor
About 120,000 poor people in Oregon will get their medical bills paid with money gleaned from cigarette smokers, while businesses have until 1997 to provide health care for uninsured workers.
The Legislature this week approved a 10-cents-a-pack cigarette tax to pay for Medicaid coverage for 120,000 people. It also gave businesses until 1997 to begin providing health coverage for 280,000 uninsured workers.
The measures are supported by Gov. Barbara Roberts.
Lawmakers wrangled all night and into early morning Thursday over the law’s deadline for mandatory coverage for businesses. In agreeing to the 1997 deadline, the Legislature pushed back the current 1995 deadline.
The Democrat-controlled Senate wanted to make the date Jan. 1, 1997, but the Republican-controlled House insisted it should be six months later.
Finally, they agreed that the deadline for companies with more than 25 workers would be March 31, 1997. Companies with 25 or fewer workers will have until January, 1998.
The cigarette tax will go up by a nickel a pack in November and another nickel in January to pay for the Medicaid expansion.
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