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Does insurance coverage for drug therapy affect smoking cessation?
Raymond G Boyle1, Leif I Solberg, Sanne Magnan
1HealthPartners Research Foundation, Minneapolis, USA.
Health Affairs (Project Hope)
|November 22, 2002
Summary
Insurance coverage for smoking-cessation medicines did not increase quitting rates or medication use. Further research is needed to explore effective strategies for smoking cessation support.
Area of Science:
- Public Health
- Health Services Research
- Behavioral Medicine
Background:
- Insurance coverage for smoking cessation pharmacotherapy is a key policy lever.
- The impact of such benefits on medication use, quit attempts, and cessation rates remains uncertain.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the effect of a new health plan pharmacy benefit on smoking cessation pharmacotherapy use, quit attempts, and quitting rates.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of health plan data to assess changes in medication use (bupropion, nicotine patches, nicotine gum).
- Evaluation of quit attempts and cessation rates before and after the implementation of the pharmacy benefit.
Main Results:
- The smoking-cessation pharmacy benefit did not alter the use of bupropion, nicotine patches, or nicotine gum.
- No significant increase in smoking cessation rates was observed with the implemented benefit.
Conclusions:
- The current health plan pharmacy benefit design did not effectively increase smoking cessation.
- Future studies should investigate enhanced awareness of benefits and integrated cessation support strategies.