November 2015
This week, the ATS joined other physician and public health groups in a letter to the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Labor, and the Department of the Treasury urging them to provide revised guidance to all federal agencies and the private insurance market on including smoking cessation coverage in health insurance plans.
All services that have received an "A" or "B" grade from the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force are required to be covered in health insurance plans without a patient copay. While this has been the requirement since the Affordable Care Act passed, there has been significant inconsistency in private plans in fully covering tobacco cessation therapies. The intent of the letter is to encourage the key federal agencies to ensure private health insurance plans are appropriately covering smoking cessation services.
