The poor, elderly and disabled wouldn't be the only ones hurt if the state does not fully fund its Medicaid health care program -- people with private insurance would end up paying more for health care.

That's the conclusion of a new study commissioned by the S.C. Chamber of Commerce.

A coalition of businesses, hospitals and advocates unveiled the study Monday and continued to call on the General Assembly to increase the tax on cigarettes to help pay for Medicaid coverage.

"People still get sick whether they're covered by Medicaid or not," said Ed Sellers, president of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of South Carolina and a member of the coalition. "The only issue is whether the coverage is paid for when they seek it."

If people are uninsured, they seek help only when they are very sick and when care is expensive -- often going to a hospital emergency room.

If patients are not covered, hospitals and providers will pass on the cost to paying customers, Sellers said.

The House begins debate today on next year's $5.1 billion budget. The S.C. Department of Health and Human Services says it needs $52 million more than budget writers have recommended to fund the Medicaid program at its current level.

The Cigarette Tax for Health Care coalition said the study shows that businesses and their employees will pay $3.90 for every $1 in state Medicaid money cut from the state's budget.

That's because the state would lose an additional $2.25 in matching federal dollars, and also because experts predict overall costs will rise because people will be sicker and seek more costly treatment.

A proposal to raise the cigarette tax from 7 cents to 60 cents a pack enjoys popular support, according to a January poll paid for by the coalition.

However, the Republican leaders of the General Assembly and Republican Gov. Mark Sanford are philosophically opposed to raising taxes.

State Rep. Rick Quinn, R-Richland, who leads the House subcommittee that writes budgets for health agencies, wants to piece together enough money to fund Medicaid and deflect the argument for a cigarette tax.

He's hoping that a Medicaid reform measure under consideration in the House will help meet some of that shortfall.

In the meantime, the coalition continues its lobbying campaign, calling legislators, meeting with Sanford and planning a State House rally for noon Wednesday.

Sanford has said he would support a cigarette tax only if it came with a commensurate cut in another tax, preferably on income.

Spokesman Will Folks said cutting the income tax would raise the amount people save and boost the economy.

"It's a difficult budget crisis that we're up against," Folks said. "The question is, do you tax your way out of it? Or do you look for ways to keep us from getting into this kind of mess in the first place."

Hunter Howard, chairman of the state Chamber of Commerce, said the 2,200 businesses he represents chose funding Medicaid as the group's top priority for the first time in at least 11 years. Traditionally, the top agenda item is education.

The coalition has brought together strange bedfellows, from advocates for the poor to chief executives of some of the state's largest businesses. It has also brought together three public-relations firms who often find themselves dueling against one another: Chernoff Newman Silver Gregory, McAlister Communications and Richard Quinn & Associates.