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In 2010, all 51 Medicaid programs provided coverage for at least one tobacco-dependence treatment for at least some segment of their Medicaid eligible population.
Introduction
Medicaid enrollees have a higher smoking prevalence than the general population. Smoking-related diseases are a major contributor to Medicaid costs. Providing tobacco users access to evidence-based tobacco dependence treatments can reduce morbidity and mortality from cancers and other tobacco-related diseases and reduce Medicaid costs.
All state Medicaid programs must provide tobacco cessation services (both counseling and pharmacotherapy) for pregnant women under section 4107 of the 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA). Additionally, effective January 2014, section 2502 of the ACA barred state Medicaid programs from excluding coverage for cessation medications approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. However, coverage still varies widely by state. As of June 2018, only 12 states provided comprehensive coverage of all evidence-based cessation treatments (medications, individual and group counseling) for all Medicaid enrollees. Expansion of treatment coverage and eligibility while reducing barriers to treatment access (e.g. copays, duration limits on treatment) are still needed.
Measure
The number of states that provide coverage under Medicaid for any evidence-based tobacco dependence treatment (pharmacotherapy or counseling), either to their entire Medicaid population or to only pregnant women.
The number of states that provide coverage under Medicaid for individual or group tobacco cessation counseling. 1
The number of states that provide coverage under Medicaid for tobacco cessation medications. 1
1 Definitions
Covered: This service is provided for all individuals enrolled in Medicaid.
Coverage Varies by Plan: If fee-for-service and managed care plans provide different coverage of this service, it was classified as “Varies by Plan.”
Pregnant Women Only: This service is provided only for pregnant women
Note: For Both fee-for-service and managed care plans were considered. If a state reported “Not Applicable” for one plan, what was reported for the other plan was used. Otherwise, if the report for fee-for-service and managed care plans did not match, it was classified as “Varies by Plan.” If fee-for-service and managed care plans did match, they were classified as such.
Healthy People 2020 Target
- Increase comprehensive Medicaid insurance coverage of evidence-based treatment for nicotine dependency in States and the District of Columbia.
Healthy People 2020 is a set of goals set forth by the Department of Health and Human Services.
Note: Goals are indicated as blue line on Detailed Trend Graphs.
Data Source
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System.
McMenamin SB, Haplin HA, Bellows MN, Husten CG, Rosenthal A. State Medicaid coverage for tobacco-dependance treatments - United States, 2007. Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report 2009;58(43);1199-1204.
Trends and Most Recent Estimates
Medicaid Coverage of Cessation Treatements
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2010) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of States | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Medicaid Coverage of Cessation Treatments
|
51.0 | Not available |
Medicaid Coverage for Group Cessation Counseling
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2017) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of U.S. states | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Covered
|
13.0 | Not available |
Pregnant Women Only
|
2.0 | Not available | |
Coverage Varies by Plan
|
16.0 | Not available | |
Medicaid Coverage for Individual Cessation Counseling
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2017) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of U.S. states | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Covered
|
35.0 | Not available |
Pregnant Women Only
|
6.0 | Not available | |
Coverage Varies by Plan
|
8.0 | Not available | |
Medicaid Coverage for Cessation Aids
| Overview Graph | Detailed Trend Graphs | Most Recent Estimates (2017) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of U.S. states | 95% Confidence Interval | ||
|
Over-the-Counter Aids Covered
|
49.0 | Not available |
Prescription Aids Covered
|
50.0 | Not available | |
OTC Coverage Varies by Plan
|
1.0 | Not available | |
Prescription Coverage Varies by Plan
|
1.0 | Not available | |
Additional Information on Medicaid Coverage of Tobacco Dependency Treatments
For the public
- Tobacco and Cancer. American Cancer Society.
- Surgeon General’s Reports on Smoking and Tobacco Use. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- Tobacco Cessation. Medicaid.gov.
- Tobacco Products. U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
For tobacco users
- Tobacco. National Cancer Institute.
- Smokefree.gov. National Cancer Institute.
- How to Quit Smoking or Smokeless Tobacco. American Cancer Society.
- North American Quitline Consortium.
For health professionals
- Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence: 2008 Update. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality.
Scientific reports
- Policies affecting Medicaid beneficiaries’ smoking cessation behaviors. Brantley E, Greene J, Bruen B, Steinmetz E, Ku L. Nicotine Tob Res 2018:00(00):1-8.
- State Medicaid expansion tobacco cessation coverage and number of adult smokers enrolled in expansion coverage—United States, 2016. DiGiulio A, Haddix M, Jump Z et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2016;65(48):1364-1369.
- State Medicaid coverage for tobacco cessation treatments and barriers to accessing treatments—United States, 2015-2017. DiGiulio A, Jump Z, Yu A et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67(13):390-395.
- Medicaid coverage expansions and cigarette smoking cessation among low-income adults. Koma JW, Donohue JM, Barry CL, Huskamp HA, Jarlenski M. Med Care 2017;55(12):1023-1029.
- Does state Medicaid coverage of smoking cessation treatments affect quitting? Kostova D, Xu X, Babb S, McMenamin SB, King BA. Health Serv Res 2018; doi: 10.1111/1475-6773.12979. [Epub ahead of print]
- How Medicaid and other public policies affect use of tobacco cessation therapy, United States, 2010–2014. Ku L, Brantley E, Bysshe T, Steinmetz E, Bruen BK. Prev Chronic Dis 2016;13:E150.
- Medicaid tobacco cessation: big gaps remain in efforts to get smokers to quit. Ku L, Bruen BK, Steinmetz E, Bysshe T. Health Aff (Millwood) 2016;35:62–70.
- Helping smokers quit—opportunities created by the Affordable Care Act. McAfee T, Babb S, McNabb S, Fiore MC. N Engl J Med 2015;372:5–7.
- Annual healthcare spending attributable to cigarette smoking: an update. Xu X, Bishop EE, Kennedy SM, Simpson SA, Pechacek TF. Am J Prev Med 2015;48:326–33.
- Smoking prevalence in Medicaid has been declining at a negligible rate. Zhu SH, Anderson CM, Zhuang YL et al. PLoS One 2017;12(5): e0178279.
Statistics
- Current Cigarette Smoking Among Adults in the United States. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
- State Tobacco Activities Tracking and Evaluation (STATE) System: Map of Comprehensive Medicaid Coverage of Cessation Treatments. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.