Dataset Information

Healthcare costs around the time of smoking cessation.

ABSTRACT:

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.

SUBMITTER: Hockenberry JM

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3358703 | biostudies-literature | 2012 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Healthcare costs around the time of smoking cessation.

Hockenberry Jason M JM Curry Susan J SJ Fishman Paul A PA Baker Timothy B TB Fraser David L DL Cisler Ron A RA Jackson Thomas C TC Fiore Michael C MC

American journal of preventive medicine 20120601 6

<h4>Background</h4>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.<h4>Purpose</h4>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) wheth ...[more]

PMID: 22608375

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Project description:BackgroundSmoking prevalence is still high, which requires effective interventions that help many people who smoke at once in addition to time-consuming individual interventions. 'I Quit' is a large-scale smoking cessation course in The Netherlands. This qualitative study explored I Quit participants' experiences during and after the course, and perceptions of whether and how the course may have altered their smoking behavior.MethodsWe performed individual semi-structured interviews with course participants (N = 21) who had either quit successfully, attempted to quit but relapsed, or had continued to smoke after 'I Quit'. Shortly after qualitative data collection was completed, Foundation I Quit was accused in the media of a number of misbehaviors. Although unplanned, this provided a unique opportunity to explore participants' views on alleged fraud in a second round of interviews (N = 16). Data were collected from 2016 to 2018.ResultsQualitative findings showed two psychosocial processes that may explain smoking cessation after course attendance. First, the confrontation with a large group of people who smoke, of whom some had already developed smoking-related complaints, triggered identity processes both towards and away from quitting smoking. Unorthodox methods used in the course appeared to trigger identity processes. Second, social support after the course from participants' own social network facilitated maintenance of successful quitting. The study also found that interview participants' opinions on I Quit did not change much after allegations of fraud in the media.ConclusionsFindings suggest that a one-time course might initiate psychosocial processes that could help certain smokers to gain motivation to quit, requiring a minimum of resources. Identity processes triggered by the course seem tricky as people have different ways of dealing with identity threat, some of which can be counterproductive and even result in more difficulty quitting. More research is needed to examine who can benefit from a one-time course, and who needs more support in order to quit successfully.

Dataset Information

Healthcare costs around the time of smoking cessation.

Background

Purpose

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Healthcare costs around the time of smoking cessation.

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