tobacco

At a time when American adults living below the poverty line are over 50 percent more likely to smoke than other citizens, health care services provided through Medicaid may make a real difference.  A new paper by researchers from the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health (Milken Institute SPH) analyzed state Medicaid coverage policies to see which ones were most effective.

Senior Research Associate Erin Brantley presented “Linking Data to Uncover Medicaid’s Role in Cessation” at the National Conference on Tobacco or Health in Austin, Texas, on March 22. The study is coauthored by Senior Research Scientist Erika Steinmetz, Lead Research Scientist Brian Bruen and Professor Leighton Ku. The presentation was part of a panel on the Tobacco Use Supplement to the Current Population Survey.

Professor Leighton Ku, Senior Research Associate Erika Steinmetz and Lead Research Scientist Brian Bruen published the article, “Crossing Boundaries: Medicaid and Public Health Collaborations to Help Smokers Quit, 8 States, 2015,” in 2017 Public Health Reports. The article is about the limited collaborations between Medicaid and public health agencies to reduce smoking among Medicaid beneficiaries.