Uneven progress in expanding state Medicaid coverage for smoking cessation

States make gradual progress, but few provide comprehensive coverage More smokers would quit if state Medicaid programs covered more cessation treatments and removed barriers to coverage, according to a CDC study published in today’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. All 50
states and the District of Columbia cover cessation treatments for at least some Medicaid enrollees.

Efforts to expand state Medicaid coverage for all smoking cessation treatments and the removal of coverage barriers have shown mixed progress over the past five years.

Americans enrolled in Medicaid are more likely to smoke than the general population, and smoking-related disease is a major contributor to increasing Medicaid costs. Insurance coverage of proven cessation treatments leads to more smokers using the treatments and successfully quitting smoking. A recent study from the American Journal of Preventive Medicine found that more comprehensive state Medicaid coverage was associated with increased quit rates among smokers enrolled in Medicaid.
Seven states cover all approved medications and in-person counseling cessation treatments for all Medicaid recipients. All states have some barriers to getting these treatments. The most common barriers are limits on how long treatment is covered and how much is covered per year; prior authorization requirements; and copayments.

“States can save lives and reduce costs by providing Medicaid coverage for all proven cessation treatments, removing barriers to accessing these treatments, and promoting the expanded coverage,” said Tim McAfee, M.D., M.P.H., Director of the CDC’s Office on Smoking and Health. “Reducing the number of smokers will save lives and reduce health care costs.”

The study compares 2008 with 2014 data and found that 41 states made changes to the treatments they covered for at least some plans or populations. Nineteen states added treatments to coverage without removing any treatments from coverage and eight states removed treatments from coverage without adding any treatments to coverage. Fourteen states both added and removed coverage.
During this same period, 38 states made changes to barriers to accessing treatments for at least some plans or populations. Nine states removed barriers without adding new barriers, 12 states added new barriers without removing existing ones, and 17 states both removed and added barriers.

“There’s evidence suggesting that smokers enrolled in Medicaid, like other smokers, want to quit and will take advantage of covered cessation treatments to help them quit for good,” said Stephen Babb, M.P.H., co-author of the article.

Some of the strongest evidence comes from Massachusetts, which expanded its Medicaid cessation coverage in 2006.

“Massachusetts heavily promoted its new Medicaid cessation coverage to Medicaid enrollees and health care providers, and saw a drop in the smoking rate among Medicaid enrollees from 38 percent to 28 percent,” said Babb. There was also an almost 50 percent drop in hospital admissions for heart attacks among those who used the benefit. It is important that all smokers who want help quitting, including smokers enrolled in Medicaid, have access to proven cessation treatments and services.”

Fifty years after the first Surgeon General’s Report linking cigarette smoking to lung cancer, smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States, killing nearly half a million Americans every year. More than 16 million Americans live with a smoking-related disease. Smoking-related diseases cost Americans $132 billion a year in direct health care expenses, much of which comes in taxpayer-supported payments. The most recent Surgeon General’s Report, released in January 2014, recommends providing barrier-free access to proven cessation treatments, and expanding cessation services for all smokers in primary and specialty care settings.

Through the Affordable Care Act, more Americans will qualify to get health care coverage that fits their needs and budget, including important preventive services such as certain services to quit smoking that may be covered with no additional costs. Visit Healthcare.gov or call 1-800-318-2596 (TTY/TDD 1-855-889-4325) to learn more.
                                                                           ###
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services CDC works 24/7 saving lives, protecting people from health threats, and saving money through prevention. Whether these threats are global or domestic, chronic or acute, curable or preventable, natural disaster or deliberate attack, CDC is the
nation’s health protection agency.

CVS Caremark to End Tobacco Sales

I have been a poor blogger and have not posted in a very long time.

Therefore, it is with great pleasure that I return with a happy announcement. Major media around the country was buzzing with the announcement the CVS Caremark announcement today the pharamacy chain will stop selling tobacco products by October 1. See the article below at http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/02/05/271906167/cvs-to-stop-selling-tobacco-products Notably, the chain already has a policy against selling "electronic cigarettes" or non-combustible tobacco delivery devices.

As reported by NPR-Saying it is "the right thing for us to do for our customers and our company to help people on their path to better health," the CEO of CVS Caremark announced Wednesday that the company's 7,600 pharmacies will stop selling cigarettes and tobacco products by Oct. 1. Larry Merlo also said CVS will try to help those who want to quit smoking with a "robust national smoking cessation program" at its locations. CVS says the decision will trim about $2 billion in annual revenue — out of what Forbes reports is $125 billion in sales each year. But as Forbes adds, Merlo believes that "continuing to sell cigarettes, which the Surgeon General blames for 480,000 deaths every year from heart disease, lung cancer, and stroke, was anathema to CVS' long-term plan to become a central player in the U.S. health care system."

Other retailers have recently come under fire for continuing to sell tobacco products while attempting to promote themselves as health and wellness-centered organization. Mega-retailer Walmart remains one of the largest dealers of tobacco products in North America.

Turkish man wears helmet-like head cage to quit smoking

In an unusual bid to quit smoking, a 42-year-old man in the western province of Kütahya has begun wearing a helmet-like wire cage on his head, locked on two sides.

İbrahim Yücel, who is trying to kick a 26-year habit of smoking two packets of cigarettes per day, gives the keys of his head cage to his wife and daughter when he leaves home every day. In this way, he is unable to open the cage to smoke during the day, even if he craves a smoke.

He says he was inspired to create the helmet-like head cage by observing motorcycle helmets, after trying without success to quit smoking several times in the past. His father died of lung cancer caused by smoking some years ago.

Since donning the head cage two days ago, Yücel has not smoked a single cigarette. 

At first shocked by the extraordinary contraption, his family now supports Yücel's determined bid to stop smoking.
Posted at http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-man-wears-helmet-like-head-cage-to-quit-smoking.aspx?pageID=238&nID=49849&NewsCatID=341 Reposted at http://www.tobaccodeathray.blogspot.com,

July/01/2013

Resourses for Clinical Reimbursement Tobbacco Coding Fact Sheet

Reposted at http://www.tobaccodeathray.blogspot.com

The American Academy of Pediatrics released a tobacco coding fact sheet to help primary care pediatricians and other healthcare providers be reimbursed for providing smoking cessation services to their patients.Created by AAP’s coding experts, the fact sheet offers multiple CPT codes for inpatient and outpatient settings, as well as non-face-to-face and non-physician provider services. Also covered are ICD-9-CM codes for medical diagnoses, comorbid diseases, substance abuse, and related supplemental codes. At the end of the coding section are six short vignettes that feature different clinical scenarios. Applicable codes and diagnoses for each situation are listed, and teaching points are given where necessary. Click here to access the fact sheet, or click here to view other resources from AAP that are designed to assist clinicians with reimbursement.

Upcoming Webinars

 “Pharmacotherapy 101”. Wednesday December 5, 3:00 – 4:15pm Eastern Time. Presented by the Center for Tobacco Cessation, this webinar will provide in-depth information on smoking cessation pharmacotherapy. Usually pharmacotherapy is a small part of a presentation on smoking cessation, but this webinar will devote an hour to answering your questions and providing the latest recommendations. Learn more about the webinar here, or click here to register.

“e-Quit: An Introduction to Web-Based Smoking Cessation Resources”. Thursday December 6, 4:00 - 5:00pm Eastern Time. Join C-Change and Legacy for a webinar on strategies organizations can use to help smokers quit, including Comprehensive Cancer Control (CCC) coalitions, cancer centers, employers, and advocacy groups. Topics will include: an overview of the current evidence-based tobacco dependence treatments and the emergence of online and mobile resources; an introduction to the features of free web-based quit smoking resources such as BecomeAnEX.org; and specific examples of ways that community-based coalitions can utilize free or low-cost resources to promote quitting smoking. Click here to register to attend this webinar.