November 6, 2009

State Medicaid Coverage for Tobacco-Dependence Treatments: United States, 2007

Researchers from the Center for Health and Public Policy Studies at the University of California, Berkeley surveyed all 51 state Medicaid programs. They sought to monitor the states' progress in providing access to smoking cessation as recommended by Healthy People 2010. The survey, sent in October 2007, asked 43 questions about state Medicaid coverage for smoking cessation programs. They found that in 2007, 84% of state Medicaid programs covered at least one tobacco-dependence treatment program on a fee-for-service basis. However, 41 of the 43 programs that offered coverage charged copayments for services, 25 limited the duration of treatment, 21 required prior authorization, and 13 required patients to enroll in behavior-modification programs in order to get pharmacological assistance. New Jersey and New Mexico were the only states that offered full access to smoking-cessation services.