• Authorize Medicaid Match Fund to be funded by an increase in the cigarette tax and used to draw down federal match for new programming and is not to be used for existing Medicaid programs.
• Expand the Partners for Healthy Children (S-CHIP) Program from 150% of poverty to a minimum of 200% of the Federal Poverty Level (FPL).
• Authorize a Premium Assistance Program for Small Businesses in South Carolina that employ 75 or less employees to provide premium assistance for all employees and spouses who are at or under 200% FPL.

• To participate, an employer must provide private Health Insurance to all employees and agree to maintain this private insurance for the next 12 months (for employees that are not eligible for premium assistance, must work out formula for employer/employee match but at a minimum the employer must contribute 25%).
• Employer must contribute 25% of the premium cost for those employees who are eligible for the premium assistance program.
• Employee’s who are eligible for the premium assistance program must contribute, on a sliding fee scale, a percentage of the premium cost up to 15%.
• The remaining costs will be paid by the state Medicaid Program; this will necessitate the legislature to direct SC Health and Human Services to apply to CMS for a HIFA waiver.

• Cigarette Tax will be raised by $ .32 per pack (to $. 39 per pack) and raised each year by the CPI to keep up with inflation.
• The $5 million of the funds will go into a Medicaid Fund for these expansion programs. Funds will also go to $3 million DHEC (split between Maternal and Child Health and Smoking Cessation programs. and $2 million Department of Agriculture to market non tobacco products grown by SC Farmers.

For more information contact John Ruoff, South Carolina Fair Share, 803-603-3224