摘要：Public health experts recommend that health insurance include coverage for smoking cessation treatment as an evidence-based strategy to reduce smoking. As employers, states can implement this policy for more than 5 million individuals nationwide. This study identified the extent to which states require smoking cessation treatment insurance coverage for their employees; of 45 states, 29 required coverage for at least 1 US Public Health Service (PHS)–recommended treatment, and only 17 of 45 provided coverage that was fully consistent with PHS recommendations. Public health experts recommend that health insurance products include coverage for evidence-based smoking cessation treatment. 1– 3 Among the entities with the authority to effect this health policy change, employers are especially promising agents of change. Employers have shown increasingly significant influence on the design and delivery of health care. 4, 5 As employers, states purchase health insurance for more than 5 million employees and retirees nationwide. 6 In many markets, states and other public employers serve as leaders and influence both what insurers offer employers and what employers offer employees. 7 By including coverage for smoking cessation treatment in health insurance benefits, states can encourage smoking cessation among state employees while also serving as a model for other local and regional employers and insurers.
