Coverage in Maine is cut as more states increase efforts to help smokers quit
(AUGUSTA, MAINE) – While more states moved to increase access to tobacco cessation coverage, the American Lung Association is drawing attention to Maine’s misguided efforts to reduce assistance to smokers with low incomes in their efforts to quit tobacco. The American Lung Association’s “Helping Smokers Quit: Tobacco Cessation Coverage 2012” report calls Maine out as the state which lost the most ground in the fight to help people break their tobacco addiction. Released today, the annual report provides a comprehensive review of each state’s tobacco cessation coverage and an up-to-date look at federal coverage and requirements under the Affordable Care Act.
“One thing we do know is that most smokers want to quit,” said Jeff Seyler, President & CEO of the American Lung Association of the Northeast. “What this report tells us is that states and the federal government are simply not doing enough to support efforts to quit. The upcoming year offers an opportunity for lawmakers to help reduce tobacco’s burden and make the necessary resources available.”
The American Lung Association report shows that the federal government has missed several key opportunities to improve access to quit smoking medications and counseling. The record for the states is mixed, but far too many fail to ensure coverage. Maine was the state singled out in the report for losing the most ground in the past year.
“A year ago we were celebrating Maine as the ‘Most Quit Friendly State’ in the nation,” said Ed Miller, Senior Vice President of Public Policy for the American Lung Association in Maine. “Maine’s decision this year to drop coverage for tobacco cessation medications from the MaineCare program flies the face of numerous studies – and frankly common sense - that tell us when people quit smoking, we lower healthcare costs in as little as a year. This report should be a wakeup call to the legislature and the Governor. If they want straightforward, cost effective ways to reduce healthcare spending, they need to reverse course and take cessation, and all tobacco control efforts, more seriously.”
The report’s key findings are:
Medicaid Coverage:
The Affordable Care Act has mandated coverage of tobacco cessation medications under Medicaid for all states in 2014. Only two states - Massachusetts and Indiana - currently provide comprehensive cessation coverage under Medicaid. It is especially vital that Medicaid enrollees receive full coverage, as 33.3% are smokers, much higher than the national average.
State Employee Health Plan Coverage:
Only four states - Illinois, New Mexico, North Dakota, and Rhode Island - provide comprehensive coverage for state employees. Four additional states - Florida, Georgia, Nebraska, and New Jersey - have added new cessation benefits for state employees this year. Although there are no states that provide zero cessation coverage, there is still not enough being done to assist state employees’ efforts to quit in most states.
Investment in State Quitlines:
Telephone Quitlines are also an essential part of any state’s tobacco cessation efforts. As more and more smokers want to quit, the majority of states are not providing adequate funding for their Quitlines.
Only two states—Maine and South Dakota—currently meet the CDC recommended investment in Quitlines. This is a critical lost opportunity for people who are trying to quit.
Federal Coverage:
On November 26, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) published a proposed rule that requires the Essential Health Benefit coverage mandated by the Affordable Care Act to cover preventive services, including tobacco cessation. However, because HHS has not yet defined what insurers must include as part of a tobacco cessation benefit, the Administration missed a crucial opportunity. Now, each state can choose its own benchmark plan, which will then serve as the Essential Health Benefit standard for plans in that state’s health insurance exchange. Until HHS officially defines a comprehensive tobacco cessation benefit, it has missed a crucial opportunity to provide many smokers with new access to help quitting, and to establish tobacco cessation as a truly essential health benefit for all health insurance coverage.
HHS’s failure to act provides an opportunity for states like Maine according to the report. Maine policymakers can now help smokers quit by including comprehensive tobacco cessation benefits as they implement state health insurance exchanges and Medicaid expansions.
“Too many states are not providing the needed coverage and others are cutting it,” added Seyler. “Maine’s governor and legislature cut Medicaid coverage of tobacco cessation medications as part of a short-sighted cost cutting strategy last year.”
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United States. The economic costs in the U.S. due to tobacco total $193 billion annually. Providing comprehensive quit-smoking treatments is crucial in both saving lives and curbing health costs – one recent study showed that providing this help has a 3-to-1 return on investment. In Maine, tobacco is estimated to cost $602 million per year in healthcare costs, including $216 million in the MaineCare program.
“Giving all smokers access to a comprehensive cessation benefit is not only the right thing to do, it’s the smart thing to do,” said Seyler. “The bottom line is that quitting smoking saves lives and saves money.”
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