State Medicaid Coverage for Tobacco-Dependence Treatments—United States, 2009

Medicaid enrollees twice the smoking rates (3 7%) of the general adult population (2 1%), and smoking-related medical costs are responsible for 11% of Medicaid expenditures. In 2008, the Public Health Service released clinical practice guidelines recommending comprehensive coverage of effective tobacco-dependence medications and counseling by health insurers. Healthy People 2010 established a clear objective for Medicaid programs to cover all Food and Drug Administration--approved medications and counseling for tobacco cessation. Here, McMenamin et al emphasize that to monitor progress toward that objective, the Center for Health and Public Policy Studies at the University of California, Berkeley, in collaboration with CDC, surveyed Medicaid programs in the 50 states and the District of Columbia to document their 2009 tobacco-dependence treatment coverage and found that 47 programs offered coverage. A CDC editorial note is included.