• This is a Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems (CAHPS) measure.
• The CAHPS survey looks at health care performance from the customer’s point of view.
• The rate, or achievement score, for this question represents respondents who answered 'sometimes', 'usually', or 'always'.
• The red dotted line on the graph above represents the national average for all Medicaid plans. It is there as a comparison to Vermont Medicaid's performance (blue line).

One component of this survey measure assesses the level of tobacco use and three components of this measure assess different facets of providing medical assistance with smoking and tobacco use cessation:

1. Percentage of survey respondents who indicate that they smoke cigarettes or use tobacco every day or some days.
2. Advising Smokers and Tobacco Users to Quit: Adults 18 years of age and older who are current smokers or tobacco users and who received cessation advice during the measurement year.
3. Discussing Cessation Medications: Adults 18 years of age and older who are current smokers or tobacco users and who discussed or were recommended cessation medications during the measurement year.
4. Discussing Cessation Strategies: Adults 18 years of age and older who are current smokers or tobacco users who discussed or were provided cessation methods or strategies during the measurement year.

Smoking and tobacco use are the largest causes of preventable disease and death in the United States and in Vermont. Tobacco use causes disease in nearly every organ in the body.  Quitting smoking and tobacco use saves lives, reduces cancer and heart disease, and improves overall health. Comprehensive cessation interventions that motivate and help users to quit tobacco use can be very effective.  Health care providers also play an important and influential role in asking, advising and counseling tobacco users with quitting. Reimbursement codes are available to support providers in brief and intermediate counseling. Counseling paired with FDA-approved nicotine replacement therapy is shown to more than double likelihood of quit success. DVHA provides all 7 FDA-approved quit medications as part of the tobacco benefit.

The percentage of adult Medicaid members who responded that they smoke cigarettes or use tobacco and discussed cessation medications with their health care provider decreased in 2021 and again in 2022. While it's uncertain why the decline occurred between 2020 and 2021, in the early months of COVID-19 there was an increase in awareness and knowledge of the harm tobacco caused and increased vulnerability to COVID-19 severity. In 2021 and extending into 2022 this concern may have been waning among Vermont members and their providers as vaccine protections increased and other protective and treatment measures were put in place. The red dotted line on the graph above represents the national average for all Medicaid plans. It is there as a comparison to Vermont Medicaid's performance (blue line).

Last updated:  03/2023