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:
