Program will cut costs, improve health.
State leaders have found a great way to cut health-care costs and help state employees live healthier lives at the same time. The state Budget and Control Board has decided to add smoking cessation programs under the State Health Plan.
That plan covers 247,000 adults, a quarter of whom are smokers or use tobacco products. The state and workers are clear winners with such coverage. Rob Tester, director of the State Health Plan, expects the program to cost $1 million a year or $350 per person, depending on how many people sign up. That compares with the estimated $1,623 spent on smokers' health coverage a year.
State officials predict significant savings for the State Health Plan very soon, thanks to the smoking cessation program. As House Ways and Means Chairman Dan Cooper pointed out, workers who quit smoking simply tend to be sick less often, saving the health plan money.
The state is following in the footsteps of many private businesses that have found it worthwhile to offer smoking cessation programs as well as efforts designed to promote good nutrition and weight control. Not all states offer anti-tobacco programs for state employees, but they will likely join in such efforts if the initiatives do indeed control rising health-care costs. More than that, smoking-cessation coverage is an important sign that a state cares about the quality and health of its work force.