Many health insurance plans are failing to provide coverage mandated by the health care reform law for treatments to help smokers and other tobacco users quit, according to a study of insurance contracts by Georgetown University researchers conducted for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The authors recommend that federal and state regulators give insurers detailed guidance on what tobacco cessation coverage is required under the landmark Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA requires all new private health insurance plans to cover preventive health services recommended with an A or B grade by the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF), with no cost-sharing such as co-pays. These recommendations include tobacco cessation treatments, which received an A grade. The USPSTF recommends that clinicians ask adults about tobacco use and provide cessation interventions for tobacco users. It found that more or longer counseling sessions improve quit rates and combining counseling with medication is more effective for treating tobacco dependence than either therapy used alone.
The report is attached to this blogpage Reports section.
Reprinted at http://www.tobaccodeathray.blogspot.com
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