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NTCC Priorities

• 1. Increase consumer demand for evidence-based tobacco cessation treatments and services
• 2. Link tobacco control public policy changes to increase cessation and treatment use and demand
• 3. Promote the inclusion and use of tobacco control and cessation content in electronic health records (EHRs)
• 4. Increase national, state and local longitudinal surveillance of tobacco-use cessation, including quitting motivation and behaviors, treatment beliefs and use, services, and policies
• 5. Expand access to proven, effective treatments for tobacco addiction
• 6. Support an expanded research agenda to achieve advances in the reach, effectiveness and adoption of tobacco cessation interventions across both individuals and populations
• 7. Launch an ongoing, extensive, national paid media campaign on cessation to help Americans quit using tobacco
• 8. Support the increase in the federal and state excise tax on tobacco to expand assistance for tobacco users who want to quit
• 9. Build capacity for quitlines in order to provide universal access to evidence-based counseling and medications for tobacco cessation

National Priority #5

Expand access to proven, effective treatments for tobacco addiction

Currently, cessation services are not adequately covered in either public or private health plans. Few Medicaid programs provide adequate coverage, and Medicare coverage is limited. Only 1 in 50 employers in the U.S. offer coverage for all evidence-based treatments, and one out of every five employers does not cover any of the effective treatments. The PHS Clinical Practice Guideline recommends that insurers and purchasers should ensure that all insurance plans include effective, evidence-based counseling and medication as covered benefits.

Featured Partner Activity

This priority is one of the current focus areas of NTCC partner Partnership for Prevention. Currently there is not adequate coverage in either public or private health plans; Medicare coverage is limited and few Medicaid programs cover comprehensive services. Only 1 in 50 US employers offer coverage of all evidence-based treatments. One of the ways Partnership is addressing this is through the National Working Group for ACTTION (Access to Cessation Treatment of Tobacco In Our Nation). In November, a group of public and private health, business and political leaders came together to develop and issue a multi-sector Call for ACTTION to dramatically increase access to the comprehensive treatments tobacco users need to help them quit. The Working Group wanted to:

• Call attention to the fact that tobacco users lack access to comprehensive tobacco cessation treatment
• Promote the need for multi-sectoral action
• Set a goal to ensure that every tobacco user has access to comprehensive treatment services by the year 2020 (if not sooner)

The goal of ACTTION is to: Expand access to comprehensive tobacco cessation treatment to 50% of smokers by 2015, and 100% by 2020. Based on recent reports issued by the CDC, the Institute of Medicine, and the U.S. Public Health Service, the Call for ACTTION plan cites three critical areas where the country should take action to improve access to comprehensive treatment:

• Insurance Coverage: Provide comprehensive first-dollar coverage for tobacco use treatment under all public and private insurance.
• Quitlines: Increase funding for state quitline infrastructure and promotion and provide incentives for quality improvement efforts.
• Healthcare systems: Institutionalize the routine treatment of tobacco use in all out-patient and in-patient service delivery.

The Call for ACTTION provides overall recommendations for action all stakeholders, including:

• Promote the inclusion of highly cost-effective preventive services (e.g., tobacco-use treatment) in health reform proposals.
• Call upon the Healthy People 2020 Advisory Committee to include insurance coverage, quitline access, and use of evidence-based treatments in the most recent cessation attempt as HP2020 measures.
• Actively promote greater access to comprehensive tobacco use treatment services.
• Encourage tobacco-users to advocate for barrier-free access to effective treatment services.

The Call for ACTTION also provides specific recommendations for each essential sector (employers/employer organizations, insurers, tobacco control/public health advocates, healthcare systems, and policymakers). For more information, see http://www.acttiontoquit.org/.

Other Partner Activities

NTCC partners are currently conducting many activities related to this priority. For a list of these NTCC partner activities, click here.