Helping Smokers Quit — Opportunities Created by the Affordable Care Act

Abstract

In its review of tobacco-dependence treatments, the 2008 clinical practice guideline of the U.S. Public Health Service concluded, "Indeed, it is difficult to identify any other condition that presents such a mix of lethality, prevalence, and neglect, despite effective and readily available interventions."(1) The low utilization of clinical cessation interventions by smokers and physicians alike is partly attributable to inadequate insurance coverage(1),(2): many health insurers still fail to cover the evidence-based counseling and medication treatments recommended in the 2008 guideline.(2) Even when these treatments are covered, barriers to utilization such as copayments and prior-authorization requirements make obtaining them . . .