tobacco

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at the end of last year 32 U.S. states had laws that preempted more stringent control of tobacco at the local level. A researcher at the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health has received a $150,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Policy for Action program to study the impacts of those preemption laws on adolescent health and health disparities.

A new study finds that Medicaid patients who are smokers give better ratings to physicians and plans that offer more support and advice about cessation. The research suggests that both clinicians and Medicaid managed care plans can improve their efforts to motivate Medicaid patients to quit smoking.

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.