Researchers from University of Arizona Report Details of New Studies and Findings in the Area of Health Insurance (Quit outcomes among clients…

Managed Care Weekly Digest

Researchers from University of Arizona Report Details of New Studies and Findings in the Area of Health Insurance (Quit outcomes among clients ineligible for cessation medication through the state quitline: a retrospective, observational study)

By a News Reporter-Staff News Editor at Managed Care Weekly Digest -- A new study on Health Insurance is now available. According to news reporting originating from Tucson, Arizona, by NewsRx correspondents, research stated, "Distribution of tobacco cessation medications through state quitlines increases service utilization and quit outcomes. However, some state quitlines have moved to models in which callers are instructed to obtain quit medications through their health insurance pharmaceutical benefit."

Our news editors obtained a quote from the research from the University of Arizona, "We aimed to investigate the impact of this policy on medication access and quit outcomes in the state quitline setting for clients who must obtain covered medications through the state Medicaid program. We hypothesized that clients with Medicaid who were referred by their healthcare provider would be more likely to report using quit medication and have higher quit rates compared to clients with Medicaid who engaged the quitline on their own. An observational, retrospective study was conducted using state quitline clients with Medicaid health insurance who were ineligible for quitline provided cessation medications. Clients were stratified by referral type: self-referred, passively referred, and proactively referred. Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression was used to estimate the effect of referral type on both quit status and cessation medication use. Proactively referred clients were less likely to use quit medication (53.6%) compared to self (56.9%) and passively referred clients (61.1%). Proactively referred clients had lower quit rates (31.4%), as compared to passively referred (36.0%) and self-referred (35.1%). In adjusted models, proactively referred clients were significantly less likely to be quit than passively referred clients (OR = 0.75, 95% CI: 0.56, 0.99). There were no statistically significant differences in medication use or number of coaching sessions among proactive, passive, and self-referred clients in adjusted models. In adjusted models, medication use did not significantly differ by mode of entry in this population of Medicaid beneficiaries. Psychosocial factors such as intention to quit in the next 30 days, social support for quitting, education level, race, and ethnicity impacted quit status and differed by mode of entry."

According to the news editors, the research concluded: "Quitlines should use tailored strategies to increase engagement and reduce barriers among proactively referred clients."

For more information on this research see: Quit outcomes among clients ineligible for cessation medication through the state quitline: a retrospective, observational study. BMC Public Health, 2018;18():21-30. BMC Public Health can be contacted at: Bmc, Campus, 4 Crinan St, London N1 9XW, England. (BioMed Central - www.biomedcentral.com/; BMC Public Health - www.biomedcentral.com/bmcpublichealth/)

The news editors report that additional information may be obtained by contacting A.B. Lent, University of Arizona, Mel & Enid Zuckerman Coll Public Hlth, Hlth Promot Sci, Tucson, AZ 85724, United States. Additional authors for this research include P.A. O'Connor, R.C. Reikowsky, U.S. Nair and M.L. Bell (see also Health Insurance).

Keywords for this news article include: Tucson, Arizona, United States, North and Central America, Clinical Trials and Studies, Medicare and Medicaid, Health and Medicine, Clinical Research, Health Insurance, Health Policy, University of Arizona.