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.
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