Medicare Will Now Cover Smoking Cessation for Seniors
State House News Service
       Medicare announced Tuesday that it is adding coverage for smoking and tobacco use cessation counseling. “Covering smoking and tobacco use cessation for seniors has great potential to save and improve lives for
millions of seniors,” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Administrator Mark
B. McClellan said in a statement. “This is another step in turning
Medicare into a prevention-oriented health program.”
       The new coverage applies to seniors who have an illness caused or complicated by tobacco use, including heart disease, cerebrovascular disease, lung disease, weak bones, blood clots and cataracts. It also applies to beneficiaries who take medications whose effectiveness is complicated by tobacco use. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 9.3 percent of Americans 65 or older smoke cigarettes, and 57 percent of those who do smoke have a desire to quit.