People who want to give up smoking may be entitled to Medicare cover for evidence-based cessation counseling, the HSS (Department of Health and Human Services, USA) announced. Before this announcement, only individuals with a tobacco-related disease were entitled to Medicare cover for counseling to give up smoking.

From now on, the HSS says any individual covered by Medicare who smokes will be entitled to receive tobacco cessation counseling from a qualified doctor or other practitioner who is recognized by Medicare. Anybody who is covered by Medicare will continue to have access to prescription medications designed to help the patient quit smoking, through the Medicare Prescription Drug Program (Part D).

HSS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, said:

For too long, many tobacco users with Medicare coverage were denied access to evidence-based tobacco cessation counseling. Most Medicare beneficiaries want to quit their tobacco use. Now, older adults and other Medicare beneficiaries can get the help they need to successfully overcome tobacco dependence.

CMS (Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services) Administrator Don Berwick, M.D., said:

Today’s decision builds on the existing preventive services that are available to Medicare beneficiaries. Giving older Americans and persons with disabilities who rely on Medicare the coverage they need for counseling treatments that can aid them in quitting will have a positive impact on their health and quality of life. As a result, all Medicare beneficiaries now have more help to avoid the painful – and often deadly – consequences of tobacco use.

HSS informs that cigarette and tobacco consumption is the number 1 cause of preventable illness and death in the USA; it is also a key contributor to the country’s medical costs.

The CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) estimates that approximately 1 in every 5 premature deaths in the USA is caused by tobacco use. The CDC adds that the average lifetime regular smoker lives 14 years less than the average lifetime non-smoker.

Tobacco-related illnesses will have cost Medicare approximately $800 billion between 1995 and 2015, says the CDC.

Even though most people are aware of the health hazards of smoking, 46 million Americans smoke, the HHS informs. Nearly 10% (4.5 million) of these people are Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 years or more, and just under 1 million are under 65 and are covered by Medicare due to a disability.

The benefits of quitting smoking start the moment the person stops, and continue to grow for the rest of their lives. Quitting smoking reduces the risk of developing heart disease, lung cancer and many other cancers, chronic obstructive disease, and several other illnesses/conditions.

Medicare beneficiaries will have cover for up to two attempts to give up smoking each year. One attempt includes up to four sessions with a counselor. In a press release, HSS wrote:

Today’s final coverage decision will apply to services under Parts A and B of Medicare and does not change the existing policies for Part D, or any state-level policies for Medicaid or the Children’s Health Insurance Program. HHS will issue guidance in the coming months about a new benefit for pregnant women to receive Medicaid-covered tobacco cessation counseling. This new benefit, a provision of the Affordable Care Act, requires states to make coverage available to pregnant Medicaid beneficiaries by October 1, 2010.

Assistant Secretary of Health Howard Koh, M.D., M.P.H. said:

“We know that older adults and other Medicare beneficiaries can be successful in their struggles to stop using tobacco, as long as they have the right resources available to them. Today’s decision will assure that beneficiaries can access that help from qualified physicians and other Medicare-recognized practitioners.

Source: HSS (Department of Health and Human Services)

Written by Christian Nordqvist