2020 -- H 7473 | |
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LC004236 | |
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STATE OF RHODE ISLAND | |
IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY | |
JANUARY SESSION, A.D. 2020 | |
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H O U S E R E S O L U T I O N | |
RESPECTFULLY REQUESTING THAT THE RHODE ISLAND DEPARTMENT OF | |
HEALTH REQUIRE THAT ALL PRIVATE INSURANCE COMPANIES IN RHODE ISLAND | |
COVER SMOKING CESSATION PROGRAMS | |
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Introduced By: Representatives Canario, Bennett, Jackson, McLaughlin, and Edwards | |
Date Introduced: February 06, 2020 | |
Referred To: House Health, Education & Welfare | |
1 | WHEREAS, The Cancer Action Network lists tobacco as the leading cause of |
2 | preventable death in the United States, with cigarette smoking causing 480,000 deaths annually. |
3 | Smoking costs the nation $130 billion annually in medical care costs, and more than $150 billion |
4 | in lost productivity; and |
5 | WHEREAS, According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), most |
6 | smokers are addicted to nicotine, a drug found naturally in tobacco. More Americans are addicted |
7 | to nicotine than any other drug and the center’s recent research suggests that nicotine may be as |
8 | addictive as heroin or cocaine; and |
9 | WHEREAS, The CDC has also reported that approximately seventy percent of smokers |
10 | want to quit smoking, and about half try to quit annually. However, less than ten percent succeed, |
11 | in part because less than one-third of smokers trying to quit use proven cessation treatments; and |
12 | WHEREAS, Unfortunately, many private insurance carriers do not cover smoking |
13 | cessation programs and others require high out-of-pocket costs which also reduces the number of |
14 | smokers who are able to try smoking cessation programs; and |
15 | WHEREAS, The CDC recommends that all insurance programs include comprehensive |
16 | coverage for all evidence-based cessation treatments, including counseling and over-the-counter |
17 | and prescription medications. The CDC further recommends that all such plans include |
18 | individual, group and telephone counseling, and cover at least two quit attempts per year; and |
19 | WHEREAS, Quitting smoking offers a plethora of health benefits to individuals. Quitting |
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1 | smoking lowers one’s risk of getting lung cancer and numerous other types of cancer, reduces the |
2 | risk of heart disease within one to two years of quitting, reduces respiratory symptoms and the |
3 | risk of developing COPD, and reduces the risk of infertility for women; now, therefore be it |
4 | RESOLVED, That this House of Representatives of the State of Rhode Island and |
5 | Providence Plantations hereby respectfully requests that the Rhode Island Department of Health |
6 | requires that all private insurance companies in Rhode Island cover smoking cessation programs; |
7 | and be it further |
8 | RESOLVED, That the Secretary of State be and hereby is authorized and directed to |
9 | transmit duly certified copies of this resolution to the Honorable Gina M. Raimondo, Governor of |
10 | the State of Rhode Island, and to Director Nicole Alexander-Scott, MD, MPH, Rhode Island |
11 | Department of Health. |
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LC004236 | |
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