State Medicaid Coverage for Tobacco-Dependence Treatments- United States, 2005

Some sort of smoking cessation treatment was a covered benefit for Medicaid beneficiaries in 38 states in 2005. However, most states did not offer complete coverage. All 38 states covered some type of medication treatment such as Zyban, nicotine inhalers, or nicotine patches. Less than half (14 states) covered tobacco cessation counseling for all Medicaid beneficiaries. Nearly a third of the states (12 states) offered counseling only to pregnant women. Most states required patients to share the cost of treatment, and a quarter of states required enrollment in a behavior modification program as a condition of medication coverage.

To conduct the survey the CDC researchers asked state Medicaid program directors to identify the staff member who was most knowledgeable about tobacco-dependence treatment coverage and programs; a survey was faxed to the identified staff member in each state. Additional follow-up was conducted by telephone, e-mail, and fax; the response rate was 100%.