Massachusetts House Discusses Tax Increase for Medicaid Expansion

Massachusetts House leaders are considering a tax increase on cigarettes or alcohol that would pay for Medicaid coverage for 147,000 low-income parents and children and subsidize private insurance for 200,000 additional people, the Boston Globe reports. The House plan would increase income eligibility from 200% to 300% of the poverty level for children. Eligibility for parents would be raised from 133% to 200% of the federal poverty level. According to legislative sources, House Speaker Salvatore DiMasi (D) and other lawmakers have not yet decided whether to tax cigarettes, alcohol or a combination of the two to raise the $170 million a year they estimate is needed to fund their plan. The House plan "relies far more heavily on government-provided Medicaid coverage" than proposals by Gov. Mitt Romney (R) and Senate President Robert Travaglini (D), which would not expand Medicaid eligibility, the Globe reports. Romney last week said, "I can't imagine a tax that I would support." The Joint Committee on Health Care Financing is expected to approve the House proposal (Greenberger/Helman, Boston Globe, 10/16).