Insurance Coverage in Wisconsin for Quit-Smoking Medication Up 30 Percent Since 2002

More Wisconsin insurers are covering quit-tobacco treatments than ever before, according to a new UW-CTRI survey. In 2006, UW-CTRI surveyed 16 major health insurers. Among those insurers beneficiaries, 88 percent are covered for medication—up from 74 percent in 2004 and 68 percent in 2002. Counseling benefits are up, too. Ninety-four percent had counseling coverage, up from 42 percent in 2002 and 65 percent in 2004. Almost 80 percent of Wisconsin insurers now cover varenicline, boosting overall coverage rates.

More and more insurers are seeing the benefits to public health and the bottom line. Research shows better benefits generally generate more quitting and better health outcomes, which in turn produces lower long-term healthcare costs. Some insurers are still slow to expand benefits because short-term return on investment can be low since many smokers wait until they need expensive medical care to quit smoking. However, Leif Actuarial Consulting firm found that even modest expenditures on quit-tobacco coverage ($100 to $300 per smoker) could be fully offset by healthcare-cost savings in three years with potentially even greater savings among pregnant women or patients with heart disease.

“This is encouraging news,” said Wendy Theobald, survey coordinator. “This echoes a national trend.” According to Addressing Tobacco in Managed Care research, coverage has increased nationwide from 25 percent of health plans in 1997 to 90 percent in 2003—a 260-percent increase.

Read the Full Report