New Legacy® Report Finds Smokers Cost Medicaid System Nearly $10 Billion In late November, a new study conducted by RTI International and funded by the American Legacy Foundation® found that America's Medicaid system could save nearly $9.7 billion within five years if all Medicaid-using smokers quit smoking. The new report, entitled Saving Lives, Saving Money II, found that effective smoking prevention and cessation programs could cut Medicaid costs by 5.6 percent. The analysis from this updated report presents the costs of smoking to state Medicaid programs over the course of young smokers' lives. Medicaid spending for current smokers ranges from $15 million in Wyoming to $1.5 billion in New York. The new report is a follow up to a prior Legacy report from 2002, Saving Lives, Saving Money: Why States Should Invest in a Tobacco-Free Future. "This report is a wake up call to the nation's health policy makers," said Janet Napolitano, Governor of Arizona and a board member of the American Legacy Foundation. "All of us who are struggling with the ever-rising costs of Medicaid should take these dramatic findings to heart. With more than 8.6 million Americans suffering from tobacco-related disease, and tobacco remaining the number one preventable cause of death in our nation, we must help smokers quit. These data make clear that investing in proven tobacco cessation programs is sound fiscal and public health policy. We can - and must - take the necessary steps to save both lives and taxpayer dollars." The study examined how much Medicaid programs would save over the course of young smokers' lives if they never smoked. States could see Medicaid savings between $1.4 million (in Alaska and Vermont) and $125 million (in Texas) were they to prevent all smoking among current 24-year-olds over the course of their lifetimes. The findings also highlight a significant difference in the net cost of smoking for men versus women. Over the lifetime of a male smoker, the net cost of smoking to Medicaid is $6, but for women - who make up 69 percent of Medicaid recipients - the cost is $1,372. "This study underscores the need for strong and effective smoking prevention and cessation campaigns," said Cheryl G. Healton, Dr. PH, president and CEO of the American Legacy Foundation. "We hope that this report will serve as a tool for states to use when setting both long and short-term goals for reducing Medicaid expenditures associated with tobacco use."