February 1, 2008
Medical plans offer more help to quit smoking
Employees who want to quit smoking have more options for help from two of Purdue's medical plans.
Incentive PPO and Purdue 500 added smoking cessation benefits for 2008. The two plans now cover up to five smoking cessation counseling visits annually.
The provider must be a health care professional who is qualified to perform tobacco cessation counseling, such as a primary care doctor. If the counseling is from a provider who is in-network, there will be no deductible or co-insurance, and these visits do not apply toward the annual $400 preventive care benefit.
Additionally, the Anthem prescription plan for PPO and 500 participants will now cover items used for tobacco or smoking cessation. This includes prescription drugs such as Wellbutrin or Chantix and over-the-counter (OTC) products such as nicotine patches or gum.
Members will pay 20 percent co-insurance for any of the covered products. The medical plan will pay 80 percent of the costs, up to a $400 annual maximum per person.
In order to take advantage of the smoking cessation benefits, PPO and 500 participants should have a prescription or written order from a physician. Members must pay for any prescriptions or OTC smoking cessation products at the pharmacy counter and should give the pharmacist their Anthem card or information to have the co-insurance applied.
All qualified smoking cessation products must be purchased through the pharmacyÕs system. Anthem will not reimburse claims manually submitted by members who purchase OTC products without going through the pharmacy. Also, this benefit is not available through the mail-order prescription service.
The UnitedHealthcare plan does not cover smoking cessation products or counseling. However, employees and family members on the UHC plan may take advantage of the free smoking cessation counseling that is available to all benefit-eligible employees through campus wellness programs.
For more information, contact the appropriate wellness program:
* West Lafayette: (765) 494-5461, worklife@purdue.edu
* Calumet: (219) 989-2709, lowry@calumet.purdue.edu
* Fort Wayne: (260) 481-6647, tillapau@ipfw.edu
* North Central: (219) 785-5519, tlaux@pnc.edu