Vermont Action Center

1.  Save the Tobacco Control Program from a $1.5 million cut to cessation and prevention services:

The Governor has proposed cutting the state Tobacco Control Program by $1.5 million, which is nearly 50% of the Health Department's total budget for tobacco cessation and prevention.  This program saves $4-5 million each year in Medicaid costs, and prevents countless cancer deaths.

We know that there will be significant harm to the infrastructure of the program if the Governor's proposed cut is allowed to stand.  The following programs and services will be impacted:

• media to promote cessation resources will be drastically undermined
• free Nicotine Replacement Therapy (NRT) will be significantly reduced
• local community coalitions across the state will be reduced in half
• hospital cessation services could be eliminated

Vermont is under considerable financial constraints, but cutting this program this year would come at a time when demand for it has never been higher.  More than $100 million comes into Vermont every year from tobacco taxes and tobacco settlement funds from the 1999 lawsuit, yet only a small percentage is actually going to prevent the state's number one killer and avoidable health problem by funding Vermont's tobacco program.

Please ask your state lawmaker to consider using the tobacco trust fund to preserve the Tobacco Control Program during this economic downturn.

2.  Stop drastic increases to Catamount Health's premiums, deductibles, and office co-pays:

With the economy struggling to rebound, the last thing we ought to do is make cuts to Catamount Health, an affordable and adequate insurance plan available to Vermonters through a state and federal partnership.  Yet that is precisely what the Governor has proposed.  With rising unemployment threatening the security of employer-sponsored insurance for many Vermonters, Catamount Health is a vital option for access to quality health care at a time we need it most.

Cutting Catamount Health does not make fiscal sense for Vermont.  With the proposed cuts, the state is at risk of losing federal aid, leaving Vermonters without an affordable and effective insurance option.  Cancer patients, and others with serious health problems like cancer, are especially vulnerable during this recession.  Without insurance, 46% of cancer patients will use up all or most of their savings fighting the disease, forcing many to declare bankruptcy.

We've experienced a decline in the number of uninsured Vermonters since the availability of Catamount Health in 2006.  Abandoning our efforts now would undermine years of public health achievements.  Raising monthly premiums, deductibles, and co-pays will only drive people off the plan, creating barriers to care which directly impact outcomes, especially for cancer patients.  The uninsured and underinsured are less likely to receive preventative care, or they delay care, putting themselves at higher risk for late stage diagnosis, when the likelihood of death increases.

Please let your state legislators know that you are opposed to cutting Catamount Health.  Vermonters need - and deserve - access to affordable, quality health care.

3.  Menu Labeling, Empowering Healthier Food Choices in Vermont:

Did you know one-third of cancer deaths that occur in the U.S. each year can be attributed to diet, physical inactivity, overweight and obesity?  Obesity is a major public health crisis, with 50% of Vermonters overweight or obese and over 25% of our kids.  As lifestyles have changed, so have our eating patterns.  We now consume over one-third of our calories eating out, yet studies prove most people significantly misjudge how many calories are in fast food meals.  Posting calorie content where consumers will read it makes it easier to make informed healthier decisions when eating in chain restaurants.

Restaurant menus and menu boards offer a significant opportunity to inform consumers and promote awareness for making health eating choices.  The American Cancer Society supports Senate bill .0171 which requires chain restaurants of 10 or more to provide calorie labels on their menu board or menu.  We support efforts to provide consumers with the information they need to make informed decisions about what they eat.  Fostering healthy behaviors to prevent obesity and maintain a healthy weight may be among the most critical actions we can take to promote wellness and reduce the burden of cancer in this country.

Please ask your lawmaker to support Senate Bill .0171, which will help Vermonters make healthier choices when eating out.