The American Lung Association says Indiana’s health insurance marketplace is failing to provide all the coverage it should to help people quit smoking under President Barack Obama’s health care law.
The group’s Indiana director, Tanya Hussain, says none of the state’s nine plans is in full compliance with the Affordable Care Act, which requires them to cover the full cost of drugs proven to help smokers quit.
The Journal Gazette reports that more than 11,000 Indiana residents die each year from tobacco-related illnesses.
And smoking rates are high among people enrolled in marketplace health plans.
Hussain says helping smokers quit save lives and money.
Ryan Stoneburner owns the Health Insurance Inc. brokerage. He says part of the problem is policyholders are reluctant to inform insurance companies that they smoke.
