Healthcare costs around the time of smoking cessation. Am J Prev Med 2012 Jun;42(6):596-601
Date
05/23/2012Pubmed ID
22608375Pubmed Central ID
PMC3358703DOI
10.1016/j.amepre.2012.02.019Scopus ID
2-s2.0-84861137055 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site) 29 CitationsAbstract
BACKGROUND: The Affordable Care Act mandates that new insurance plans cover smoking-cessation therapy without cost-sharing. Previous cost difference estimates, which show a spike around the time of cessation, suggest premiums might rise as a result of covering these services.
PURPOSE: The goal of the study was to test (1) whether individuals in an RCT of pharmacotherapy and counseling for smoking cessation differed in their healthcare costs around the cessation period, and (2) whether the healthcare costs of those in the trial who successfully quit were different from a matched sample of smokers in the community.
METHODS: Generalized linear regression models were used to analyze healthcare cost data on individuals enrolled in a comparative effectiveness trial of cessation therapies between October 2005 and May 2007 (1346 total participants; 1338 with requisite data for further analysis). Cost differences for the period preceding and subsequent to the cessation attempt were assessed by trial participants' 12-month sustained quit status. Healthcare cost differences between sustained quitters and a sample of community-dwelling smokers, matched to these quitters on the basis of health services use around the time trial participant enrolled and by demographics, were also examined. Data were analyzed in 2011.
RESULTS: All three groups had a spike in cost associated with the index clinic visit. Regression results revealed little difference in healthcare costs by quit status for trial participants until the sixth quarter post-quit. By that quarter, continuous sustained quitters cost $541 (p<0.001) less than continuing smokers. Continuous sustained quitters cost less than their matched community- dwelling smokers in almost every quarter observed. The cost difference ranged from $270 (p=0.01) during the quarter of quit, to $490 (p<0.01) in the 6th quarter after quitting.
CONCLUSIONS: The inclusion of smoking-cessation therapy does not appear to raise short-term healthcare costs. By the sixth quarter post-quit, sustained quitters were less costly than trial participants who continued smoking.
Author List
Hockenberry JM, Curry SJ, Fishman PA, Baker TB, Fraser DL, Cisler RA, Jackson TC, Fiore MCAuthor
Ron Cisler PhD Professor in the Health Informatics & Administration, Public Health department at University of Wisconsin - MilwaukeeMESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold
AdolescentAdult
Female
Health Care Costs
Health Care Surveys
Humans
Insurance Coverage
Logistic Models
Male
Middle Aged
Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act
Smoking Cessation
United States
Wisconsin
Young Adult
