Doctors say tax protects healthcare

The doctors of Glacier Medical Associates strongly support the passage of ballot Initiative-185 for a healthy Montana. Please vote yes on I-185 to protect the health and healthcare of our kids and our state. GMA loves being an important fixture in improving the health of the community and patients that we serve. Daily we are faced with caring for patients and their families suffering from tobacco related disease such as cancer, heart disease, and stroke. Tobacco-related diseases are the No. 1 preventable causes of premature death in our state.

Passage of I-185 will: prevent 4,800 premature deaths; decrease youth smoking rates by more than 20 percent; prevent 8,000 Montana kids from becoming adult smokers; and help 9,300 adults quit smoking.

Access to health care for those previously not covered is an important issue for the Big Sky state. By passing I-185 we show that Montanans care for their fellow citizens by: preventing nearly 100,000 of our friends and neighbors from losing their existing health care coverage through Medicaid; funding veterans nursing homes and suicide prevention; supporting rural hospitals and clinics to ensure that they remain open for all Montanans; providing health services to help seniors and people with disabilities stay in their homes; keeping kids from smoking and helping smokers quit.

Big tobacco has targeted our state with millions of advertising dollars to oppose this important initiative. Join us by showing that Montanans support the health of Montanans. Please vote YES on I-185.

GMA physicians: Dr. Suzanne Daniell, Dr. Jay Erickson, Dr. John Kalbfleisch, Dr. Dan Munzing, Dr. Jon Miller, Dr. Jennie Eckstrom, Dr. Bayne French and Dr. Todd Bergland.