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Press Release: Massachusetts advocates praise tobacco tax increase
... Director for Massachusetts. “The tobacco tax increases included in the transportation finance bill will save lives and reduce long-term health care costs for the Commonwealth.” Tobacco use is the leading cause of preventable death in Massachusetts, killing more than 9,000 residents each year while hundreds of thousands more suffer from its health consequences. Tobacco-related health care expenses annually costs Massachusetts $4.3 billion – 10 percent of all our health care costs. ...
January 2018 Federal Update
Tax Bill’s Repeal of Health Mandate Threatens Patient Access On Dec. 20, Congress approved a final tax bill that repeals the individual mandate – the provision in the current health law requiring Americans to buy health coverage. According to the Congressional Budget Office (CBO), eliminating the insurance requirement ... several states have sought approval from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) to take alternative approaches to providing health care coverage to low-income individuals and families covered by the state Medicaid program. The requests, known as 1115 demonstration waivers, must ...
SENATE PREPARING FOR VOTE TO RAISE TOBACCO PURCHASING AGE
... the News Service Tuesday. Based on eight separate tobacco bills filed by House and Senate lawmakers this session, the Joint Committee on Public Health put together a bill (S 2152) dubbed "An Act to protect youth from the health risks of tobacco and nicotine addiction" that is now before the Senate Ways and Means Committee and slated to hit the Senate floor in formal ... just the revenue from tobacco sales but from whatever ancillary purchases they would make while in the store. The ban on tobacco sales at health care institutions, including pharmacies, could also disadvantage some retailers, he said. "Some of our members have chosen to go ahead and take on ...
August 2017 State Update
... liquid nicotine containers and prohibit tobacco use on public and private school property. The bill remains in the Joint Committee on Public Health. We are working with the committee to ensure the bill is reported out ‘favorably’ in the near future. Action items: We are looking for ... 21 to share with our lawmakers. Please connect them with Melissa via email at [email protected] or via phone at 508-270-4683. Office of Health Equity: Despite measured progress, disparate populations continue to have worse health outcomes than the majority population on nearly every ... In January, this bill was filed in the House and Senate, the concurrent proposals have been assigned to the Joint Committee on Health Care Financing. A public hearing was held in June at which ACS CAN offered testimony in support of the bill. The next step will be for the ...
June 2017 State Update
... Senate. The Senate version has 15 Representative co-sponsors and 10 Senate co-sponsors, and has been assigned to the Joint Committee on Public Health. At the close of the deadline for Representatives to officially co-sponsor the House bill, we had 95 out of 160 House members co-sponsor the bill. 9 Senate members also signed onto the House bill. On May 16 th , the Joint Committee on Public Health held a public hearing on the bill, where ACS CAN had 4 volunteers testify as part of our work with the Tobacco Free Mass coalition. ACS ... or via phone at 508-270-4683. Transparency in Prescription Drug Formularies: As consumers are asked to be more savvy health care shoppers, they can only do so with accurate information. While the cost of a drug varies significantly depending on the source, consumers ...
Massachusetts is one Step Closer in the Fight Against Big Tobacco
BOSTON – By a vote of 146-4, the Massachusetts House of Representatives today voted in support of H4479, An Act to protect youth from the health risks of tobacco and nicotine addiction, which takes a comprehensive approach to tobacco control efforts in the Commonwealth. The bill ... include e-cigarettes in the smoke-free workplace law, and prohibit the sale of tobacco products from pharmacies and any location which provides health care services. Marc Hymovitz, Massachusetts director of government relations for the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), ...
TOBACCO PURCHASING AGE WOULD RISE TO 21 UNDER SENATE-APPROVED BILL
... legislation that supporters said would cut down youth tobacco use and nicotine addiction. The bill, compiled by the Joint Committee on Public Health based on several separate pieces of legislation, also bans pharmacies and health care institutions from selling tobacco products and prohibits the use of electronic cigarettes in places where smoking is already banned. "This ...
ACS CAN Massachusetts Priority Bills Filed
... going out to lawmakers! Here are the bill names, current bill numbers, and lead legislative sponsors for each of our bills: An Act empowering health care consumers - SD 8 - Sen. Brendan Crighton & HD 1505 – Rep. Jen Benson An Act regulating flavored tobacco products - SD 905 – Sen. John ...
Bill would make Mass. a leader against Big Tobacco
... workplace law, increase the legal age for tobacco product purchase from 18 to 21, and prohibit sales of tobacco in facilities that provide health care, such as pharmacies. When combined with Massachusetts' appropriately strong tobacco taxes and 100 percent smoke-free workplace law, passage ...
Massachusetts sees overall decrease in cigarette sales after passage of first in the nation flavored tobacco legislation
... (JAMA), the research highlights the lifesaving benefits of Massachusetts’ first in the nation move to end the sale of flavored tobacco. Public health advocates, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the advocacy affiliate of ACS, worked tirelessly to pass ... Big Tobacco in their pushing flavored tobacco products on our kids and communities of color.” Nationally, ACS CAN and other leading public health groups are calling on the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) to follow the Commonwealth’s lead and implement a nationwide menthol ... affiliate, ACS CAN has successfully advocated for billions of dollars in cancer research funding, expanded access to quality affordable health care, and made workplaces, including restaurants and bars, smoke-free. As we mark our 20th anniversary, we’re more determined than ever to ...