Acting Insurance Commissioner Teresa Miller issued a consumer alert today to inform customers that tobacco cessation programs are free under the Affordable Care Act. This alert followed a PA Insurance Department reminder issued to all insurers offering health insurance policies through the ACA marketplaces that they are required to provide tobacco cessation at no cost to policy holders. A recent American Lung Association report indicated some insurers were not complying with the tobacco cessation coverage mandate of the ACA.
"Though the American Lung Association report showed Pennsylvania insurers are doing a better job than those in most other states of covering tobacco cessation treatment, most health plans did not provide coverage for the full range of programs that should be available under preventive care," Acting Commissioner Miller said. She noted most Pennsylvania insurance plans, according to the American Lung Association report, are not covering all seven FDA approved tobacco cessation medications.
