Surely no one is surprised that Kentucky received failing grades in all four areas in the recent State of Tobacco Control Report produced by the American Lung Association. After all, the state received four F’s in last year’s report, and since Kentucky has done little to curb smoking since then, the failing grades should have been expected.
The report annually looks at looks at how well states do at preventing tobacco use and helping smokers quit. The report looks at four key areas — smoke-free air, tobacco control program funding, cigarette taxes and coverage of tobacco cessation treatments and services.
Despite Kentucky receiving failing grades in all four areas, the lung association did see some progress in the state. However, Kentucky’s current budget crisis could well determine whether that progress will continue.
Governor Steve Beshear recently made a commitment in his State of the Commonwealth address to provide the necessary funding to help smokers on Medicaid quit smoking through proven cessation methods. Currently, Kentucky is one of only a few states to not provide any funds to help Medicaid recipients quit smoking. And since Kentucky’s poorest residents have among the highest rates of smoking in the nation, helping them kick the tobacco habit in the long run could save the state more money than it costs by reducing the health care costs of poor Kentuckians.
However, with legislators being forced to cut spending by more than $100 billion, the additional funding to Medicaid for smoking cessation may not survive. After all, it is easier to eliminate spending for a new program than to reduce spending for an existing program.
In fact, it’s happened before. In 2007, legislators approved a program which would provide a comprehensive smoking cessation benefit to Kentucky Medicaid beneficiaries. Unfortunately, that program has yet to be funded. The same fate could await it in 2010, even though funding the program for $1.5 million would bring $3.5 million in federal matching funds to Kentucky Medicaid. More important, it would give thousands of Kentuckians a way to quit smoking and save the state millions of dollars in health care costs.
Unlike in past years, Kentucky legislators now are at least saying the right words when it comes to discouraging residents from smoking. Unfortunately, the state is yet to match its words with money. And money now is in short supply.
