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Committee advances bill to expand Medicaid coverage for tobacco-cessation products
Summary
House Bill 506 would expand Medicaid coverage to include tobacco-cessation medications and counseling and remove some prior-authorization limits. The Senate Health and Human Services Committee voted unanimously to advance the bill; state health officials told the panel the expected fiscal impact is minimal.
Representative Scott Hilton presented House Bill 506, which would broaden Medicaid coverage for tobacco-cessation products and therapies and remove certain prior-authorization limits. Proponents said the change could reduce smoking rates among Medicaid enrollees and lower long-term health costs for the state.
Hilton said groups including the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association supported the proposal, and he cited an estimate — attributed in the hearing to the Heart Association — that tobacco-related health costs for Medicaid total about $700 million annually. “If we are able to reduce those on Medicaid who smoke, we will save the state millions of dollars,” Hilton said.
Brandy Sylvan, Director of Government Relations with the Department of Community Health, told the committee the department already covers many cessation products and therapies but had identified some prior-authorization limits. “We actually do largely cover these products and therapies, but we did identify where there were some prior authorization limitations,” Sylvan said, adding the agency does not expect a significant cost increase. Sylvan also said pharmacy spending for those products was “in the range of about $200,000” under current coverage.
Senators moved a “do pass” recommendation; the motion passed unanimously. The transcript does not include a roll-call tally.
