Post by TonyV on Oct 6, 2010 15:29:06 GMT -5
Hello, I would like to bring your attention on a new post published on the
UAWLAP.org Site.
Details of the post follow.
In Solidarity,
Steven M. Stone
Kentucky Medicaid recipients are now eligible for nicotine replacement products
Medicaid smoking cessation benefit begins
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky Medicaid recipients are now eligible for nicotine
replacement products and drugs to help them quit smoking, Gov. Steve Beshear
announced Monday.
“This is a great opportunity for Medicaid recipients to stop smoking or using
tobacco,” Beshear said at a news conference in the Capitol.
The 2010-12 state budget provides million for the program, which will be
matched with .4 million in federal funds, Beshear said.
The program, which began Oct. 1, has been sought for years by health advocates.
They say it will improve the health of Kentuckians and save money in the long
haul because treatment for tobacco-related illness costs the state Medicaid
program nearly 0 million a year.
Amy Barkley, of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, praised the governor and
General Assembly for including funding for the program in a lean state budget.
“Providing smoking cessation coverage for Kentucky Medicaid recipients is
good economic and health policy,” Barkley said in a news release. “It
benefits individual patients and Kentucky businesses while helping to improve
the long-term financial prosperity of the state.”
Under the program, Medicaid recipients will be given a tobacco cessation
assessment to determine their tobacco usage, willingness to quit and coping
skills, as well as any barriers to quitting.
Recipients will enroll in a counseling program and select a cessation program.
Nicotine replacement products such as gum or patches and tobacco cessation
drugs will, if necessary, be prescribed by the recipient's provider.
About one in four Kentucky adults smoke, but the rate is about 40 percent among
Medicaid recipients, said Tonya Chang of the American Heart Association.
Kentucky Public health Commissioner William Hacker said only 1 to 5 percent of
individuals who try to quit on their own succeed. But about 28 percent are
successful under the type of comprehensive program now being offered by
Medicaid.
Beshear said Kentucky along with West Virginia “still leads the nation in the
percentage of adults who smoke. We also are second in the nation in number of
pregnant women who smoke.” He also said nearly 8,000 Kentuckians die
prematurely each year because of tobacco use.
“We cannot, and we must not, ignore these statistics,” he said.
Health and Family Services Secretary Janie Miller said recipients who want to
enroll in
the program should consult their health care provider.
Courtesy of,
Denise
Senator Harper Angel
35th Senate District
Link to the post:
uawlap.org/uaw/local-862/retiree-news/kentucky-medicaid-recipients-are-now-eligible-for-nicotine-replacement-products.php
Link to UAWLAP.org: uawlap.org
UAWLAP.org Site.
Details of the post follow.
In Solidarity,
Steven M. Stone
Kentucky Medicaid recipients are now eligible for nicotine replacement products
Medicaid smoking cessation benefit begins
FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky Medicaid recipients are now eligible for nicotine
replacement products and drugs to help them quit smoking, Gov. Steve Beshear
announced Monday.
“This is a great opportunity for Medicaid recipients to stop smoking or using
tobacco,” Beshear said at a news conference in the Capitol.
The 2010-12 state budget provides million for the program, which will be
matched with .4 million in federal funds, Beshear said.
The program, which began Oct. 1, has been sought for years by health advocates.
They say it will improve the health of Kentuckians and save money in the long
haul because treatment for tobacco-related illness costs the state Medicaid
program nearly 0 million a year.
Amy Barkley, of the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, praised the governor and
General Assembly for including funding for the program in a lean state budget.
“Providing smoking cessation coverage for Kentucky Medicaid recipients is
good economic and health policy,” Barkley said in a news release. “It
benefits individual patients and Kentucky businesses while helping to improve
the long-term financial prosperity of the state.”
Under the program, Medicaid recipients will be given a tobacco cessation
assessment to determine their tobacco usage, willingness to quit and coping
skills, as well as any barriers to quitting.
Recipients will enroll in a counseling program and select a cessation program.
Nicotine replacement products such as gum or patches and tobacco cessation
drugs will, if necessary, be prescribed by the recipient's provider.
About one in four Kentucky adults smoke, but the rate is about 40 percent among
Medicaid recipients, said Tonya Chang of the American Heart Association.
Kentucky Public health Commissioner William Hacker said only 1 to 5 percent of
individuals who try to quit on their own succeed. But about 28 percent are
successful under the type of comprehensive program now being offered by
Medicaid.
Beshear said Kentucky along with West Virginia “still leads the nation in the
percentage of adults who smoke. We also are second in the nation in number of
pregnant women who smoke.” He also said nearly 8,000 Kentuckians die
prematurely each year because of tobacco use.
“We cannot, and we must not, ignore these statistics,” he said.
Health and Family Services Secretary Janie Miller said recipients who want to
enroll in
the program should consult their health care provider.
Courtesy of,
Denise
Senator Harper Angel
35th Senate District
Link to the post:
uawlap.org/uaw/local-862/retiree-news/kentucky-medicaid-recipients-are-now-eligible-for-nicotine-replacement-products.php
Link to UAWLAP.org: uawlap.org