National Health Insurance Reform: Medicaid Coverage to Help Pregnant Women Stop Smoking

The federal Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“health insurance reform”), requires state Medicaid programs to cover comprehensive tobacco cessation services for pregnant women, effective October 1, 2010. This is good news for pregnant women in Connecticut’s HUSKY Program. To date, Connecticut has been one of the few states in the nation that did not cover counseling or medications to help smokers in its Medicaid program quit. This new benefit will go a long way toward improving maternal health, birth outcomes, and health in early childhood.