Medicaid smoking cessation coverage

Medicaid smoking cessation coverage


http://www.medicaidpatients.com/medicaid-smoking-cessation-coverage/

The National Cancer Institute has reported in 2009 that coverage for tobacco dependence treatments have increased at a steady pace since the mid-1990s for state Medicaid programs. As of 2007, there were 44 states that covered some form of treatment, compared to only 3 in 1995.

This is a significant development, considering the fact that the cigarette smoking rate among adult Medicaid beneficiaries is higher at 37 percent, than the general adult population which is at 21 percent. It is estimated that about one-third of all cancer deaths is caused by smoking. Smoking-related medical costs make up a big chunk of Medicaid spending.

However, it appears that state Medicaid programs are still lagging on tobacco cessation coverage. A study done by Sara B. McMenamin, PhD, of the University of California Berkeley, and her colleagues in conjunction with the CDC found that even though a vast majority of all states covered some form of tobacco dependence treatments, a greater number of states only offered very limited treatments for Medicaid beneficiaries.

In its Healthy People 2010 target, the federal government recommended that Medicaid programs should cover all FDA-approved prescriptions and counseling for tobacco dependency treatment.