COLUMBIA — Now that the S.C. State Senate has approved a 50 cent-per-pack tax increase, the discussion is shifting towards how the $159 million in revenue generated by the hike will be disbursed.

An annual amount of $5 million will be allotted to the Smoking Prevention and Cessation Trust Fund which will allow the Tobacco Prevention and Control to expand both youth and adult program statewide.

“That program will be administered by Department of Health and Environmental Control in conjunction with Center for Disease Control,” Senator Thomas Alexander, R-Walhalla, said.

The remaining $154 million will be divided between a health care premium assistance plan and an expansion of the eligibility of Medicaid to include more low-income families. Alexander said between 150,000-200,000 uninsured South Carolinians will benefit from the programs funded by the tax increase.

“The revenue is really an additional benefit to a healthier state,” Alexander said. “If we reduce the number of smokers, we all win. It’s certainly a win for all those individuals we’ll never know by name, who would have countless health issues caused by smoking but never started smoking because of our actions ...”

Half of the remaining money will go towards The Palmetto Healthcare Premium Assistance Program, which will be administered by the Department of Insurance. The program will provide up to three years of monthly premium assistance for South Carolina residents who have been without health coverage for the last 12 months. Qualified individuals age 19-64 who have been a U.S and South Carolina resident for at least one year will be able to receive an average of $2,000 annually to pay insurance premiums on a qualifying health plan.

Alexander said in an effort to provide health care to more South Carolinians who cannot afford insurance, those who reach up to 200 percent poverty, or twice the poverty income standard set by the federal government will be eligible for the program. That means someone making up to $20,976, or twice the standard individual poverty line of $10,488, will be able to benefit from the premium assistance.

Medicaid programs will be expanded with the rest of the money, providing a wider scope of coverage for more low-income families.

“With the programs in Medicaid, again we’re focusing on the uninsured and low income families,” Alexander said. “We anticipate that when we expand eligibility, 70,000 more uninsured citizens in the state will be covered.”

The increase moves the state from last in the nation at 7 cents to 39th in the nation with a total per pack tax of 57 cents. The last time the General Assembly addressed cigarette tax was in 1977, leading Alexander to call the increase “long overdue.”

“The Senate has demonstrated a great concern for uninsured South Carolinians,” he said “We are serious about helping them not only access health care but also providing increased availability of healthcare either through Medicaid or through premium assistance.”