State Coverage of Cessation plus NRT – 9/20/05

Q:

Does your State health plan (the plan that covers state employees) fully cover smoking cessation plus nicotine replacement therapy?

A:

  1. Alabama: The Alabama State Employees' Insurance Program and the Public Education Employees' Health Insurance Program provide reimbursement for up to 80% of over the counter nicotine replacement therapy costs and refer their enrollees to the Alabama Tobacco Quitline for counseling.
     
  2. Missouri: health plan does not cover cessation and NRT
     
  3. Nevada: Yes, state plan fully covers cessation plus NRT
     
  4. New Jersey: The State Health Benefits plan in New Jersey does not specifically cover cessation in the plan. We have been working toward this end and have been stalled due to huge budget deficits. The plan does not cover OTCs but will cover prescription NRT and other pharmaceuticals.
     
  5. Ohio: Ohio's health plan for state employees does not cover cessation counseling other than one session with a counselor with our Employee Assistance Program. NRT is not covered by the several plan because of the contracts the state has with the various health plans, however, Medical Mutual of Ohio, which is the largest insurer in Ohio and is the largest of the insurers of state employees has agreed to cover half of the cost of NRTs as part of a cooperative agreement with our MSA funded Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Foundation if the employee registers with the Ohio Quitline which is primarily funded by the Foundation. The other state health plans do not currently participate in this effort.
     
  6. Rhode Island: health plan does not cover cessation and NRT
     
  7. South Carolina: South Carolina's Budget and Control Board voted August 9th to extend coverage through the State Health Plan (SHP) for a free tobacco cessation counseling program and NRT for approximately 247,000 state employees and their dependents who are covered by the SHP. This benefit will be "introduced" to all state employees during the health insurance open enrollment period in the month of October. The benefit will begin January 1, 2006 and there will be no increase in premiums, nor will this affect any other benefits. The private company that serves as the SHP's behavioral health manager has contracted with a nationally known quitline vendor to provide a smoking cessation "hotline" service, and the plan will include full coverage for NRT. SC is estimating a savings of $5 for each $1 invested over a five-year period. The great news is that the SC Tobacco Control Program's quitline budget (already small as it is) can be preserved for the public health populations who have little or no coverage.
     
  8. Utah: Utah Public Employee Health Plan covers the following:
     
    • Zyban/bupropion
    • Nicotrol Nasal Spray
    • Utah Tobacco Quit Line services, including proactive telephone counseling, quit kits and nicotine patch or gum
    • Also, for those enrolled in the health plan Wellness Program:
    • 50% of the cost of a group cessation class, up to $40
    • Up to $100 incentive for quitting
       
  9. West Virginia: Yes, state plan fully covers cessation plus NRT

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