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CONTACT: Beth Kaplan, Department of Health Services, (608)
266-1683
WISCONSIN PROGRAM AWARDED $9.2 MILLION TO HELP REDUCE
SMOKING AMONG BADGERCARE PLUS MEMBERS
Partnership Grant Includes Outreach to Pregnant Smokers
MADISON—A Wisconsin
partnership will receive $9.2 million over five years from the Centers for
Medicaid and Medicare (CMS) to reduce smoking rates among Medicaid
enrollees, with a special emphasis on pregnant smokers, state officials
announced today.
The Striving to Quit
initiative will target BadgerCare Plus members in two regions of the state
and BadgerCare Plus high risk pregnant women in five counties.
More than 8,000 adults and 3,000 pregnant women will be offered
free smoking cessation counseling through the statewide Quit Line managed
by University of Wisconsin’s Center for Tobacco Research and
Intervention (UW-CTRI) and the Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation’s (WWHF)
First Breath program. Both
programs are funded in part by the Department of Health Services (DHS).
Participants will receive incentives for making attempts to quit
and achieving their goals, which will be verified using carbon monoxide
testing. Implementation will
begin in January.
“This grant focuses
smoking cessation efforts exclusively on our Medicaid population, provides
follow-up counseling for women who stop smoking during pregnancy to
prevent relapse after delivery, and trains medical assistants to screen
for smoking and help enrollees access the Quit Line,” said DHS Secretary
Dennis G. Smith. “This
initiative will help improve health outcomes for mothers and babies in our
Medicaid program.”
“Some 70 percent of
smokers want to quit, and this grant will helps thousands of Medicaid
enrollees access the Wisconsin Tobacco Quit Line and succeed,” said Dr.
Michael Fiore, UW-CTRI director.
According to Sue Ann
Thompson, WWHF President, “Wisconsin ranks above the national average
for pregnant smokers, with more than 9,000 low-income women who smoke
during pregnancy. This grant
will help us target these women with a proven smoking cessation program,
resulting in healthier moms and babies and lower health care costs to the
state.”
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Last Revised: September 21, 2011
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