DECATUR, AL—
In October we told you Alabama is one of six states that currently doesn't cover smoking cessation treatments for Medicaid recipients. Now, one Tennessee Valley legislator is hoping to change that statistic because he was once a smoker too.Morgan County Representative Micky Hammon is headed to Montgomery to talk to the governor about getting Alabama Medicaid to cover smoking cessation programs.
Representative Micky Hammon smoked for about 20 years.
"I enjoyed smoking. I think anyone who wants to smoke has the right to smoke," said Hammon. "I'm not here trying to stop smoking. Definitely not. Anyone who wants to smoke has the right to do it. However, if the person has made the decision that they want to stop or they need to stop for health reasons, then I think we should help them."
Two years ago, a pulmonary embolism stopped the state representative from ever picking up another cigarette.
"I was forced to quit," said Hammon. "I didn't have a choice."
Representative Hammon didn't use smoking cessation products like the patch, gum or pills to quit.
"When you have a pulmonary embolism and have a blood clot that breaks loose and goes to your lung, you can't smoke. I mean, you're lucky to be alive. It's a pretty serious illness and you definitely do not want a cigarette," said Hammon.
Now he wants to help people in Alabama on Medicaid, who aren't offered coverage for smoking cessation programs.
"This is a bad year to be asking for expenditures," acknowledged Hammon. "Even though we can make a good case that this will save money for the state in the long run."
He doesn't think there will be a problem convincing Governor Riley that Alabama needs to pay for these programs.
"So the issue now is how will we find the money to get started," said Hammon.
Representative Hammon doesn't know how much it will cost for Alabama Medicaid to begin covering smoking cessation programs. He's still researching it.
