When looking to cut costs, health plans may put smoking and vaping cessation programs on the chopping block.
But if your health plan views its smoking and vaping cessation programs as expendable, cutting them is not the solution.
It’s time to find a better vendor.
Here are 4 signs health plans need better smoking and vaping cessation programs, even when times are tight.
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Your vendor doesn’t show cost savings or ROI
Smoking causes some of the costliest drivers of healthcare. Lung cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) are only some of the major medical conditions caused by smoking.
A CDC study showed that 11.7% of all U.S. annual healthcare spending was attributable to smoking, equating to an astounding $226.7 billion. Analyses by service type showed that smoking drives 16.4% of all spending on inpatient care, 13.4% of all spending on prescription drugs, and 6% of all spending on outpatient care and other professional services.
As a payer, you likely see these costs in your own data.
Evidence-based behavioral interventions and medications for smoking cessation are among the most cost-effective clinical preventive services available. Quitting smoking has immediate health benefits for smokers. For example, within weeks of quitting, individuals experience improved circulation, lung function, and overall energy levels. Mental health, surgical outcomes, and management of asthma and COPD are also improved after quitting.
Your tobacco cessation vendor should be able to demonstrate how these improvements in health outcomes – and others – generate near-term benefits for your bottom line.
With EX Program, clients who follow our best practices can see an impressive return on investment (ROI). A recent analysis of healthcare claims among employees and spouses of a large manufacturing employer showed that our program yielded a 9.65x ROI within the first year based on claims data alone.
Health plans that continue to invest in cessation programs can help members achieve better health outcomes, ultimately reducing the need for expensive medical interventions.
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Your tobacco cessation program has poor adult engagement
If few adults use the smoking and vaping cessation programs you offer, there could be several reasons. If it’s a phone-based program, this could be a barrier for individuals who prefer the 24/7 availability and anonymity of digital interventions such as texting. Digital interventions that include an online community also provide access to peer support at the times people need it most.
Another (highly likely) reason for low engagement could be that few members know what you offer.
This is why EX Program works hand in hand with health plan clients to create a customized communication plan and campaign materials.
For a Kentucky Medicaid health plan, we increased member engagement by 1,000% using a robust communications plan that included quarterly emails. Enrollment numbers under a previous vendor had stalled at roughly 100 people each year. Within year one, we enrolled over 1,000 members and by year two, we doubled this number to over 2,000 members enrolled in EX Program.
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Your vaping cessation program has poor youth engagement
Cessation treatment for teens? Yes, this should be on your radar as an important area for cost savings too.
In 2024, more than 1.6 million adolescents reported current e-cigarette use (3.5% of middle school students and 7.8% of high school students). More than 1 in 4 (26.3%) of youth e-cigarette users reported daily use and over half report using disposable e-cigarettes, which deliver larger and stronger amounts of nicotine.
The costs of e-cigarette use among adolescents may show up in your data as claims related to behavioral health services. Indicators of nicotine addiction among adolescent e-cigarette users have increased substantially in recent years, which can manifest as troubles with sleep, appetite, depression, irritability, anger, or anxiety.
Adolescent e-cigarette use may also be driving claims related to asthma, bronchitis, and respiratory tract irritation. E-cigarettes expose adolescents to numerous toxic substances, which can negatively impact respiratory health.
Young people want to quit vaping. A 2023 Truth Initiative survey found 67% of 15- to 24-year-old e-cigarette users said they were considering quitting as a New Year’s resolution.
However, many solutions on the market today don’t have the reach or a proven approach to help on a population-based level. Nationwide, state quitlines in 2023 delivered cessation services to less than 2,000 adolescents.
EX Program Essentials, formerly known as This is Quitting, has demonstrated both reach and effectiveness among adolescents. Over 800,000 young people have enrolled in EX Program Essentials since January 2019, enrolling more than 3,500 adolescents each month.
And, a groundbreaking study published in August in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) showed that the program was effective not only in helping adolescents to quit vaping but also to not experiment with smoking.
See more results from our recently published JAMA paper here.
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Your vendor provides limited or delayed visibility into program performance
If your cessation vendor can’t answer how their smoking and vaping programs are performing right now, you’ve got a problem. How can you effectively adjust promotions if you don’t know what has or hasn’t been working? And how can care managers work with individual tobacco users without ongoing visibility into their progress in cessation treatment?
EX Program offers real-time data dashboards that show program enrollment, demographics of enrolled users, details about program engagement, and quit rates. Individual user data includes program progress. Plus, our Client Success Managers help you set goals and interpret reporting related to your program’s performance.
If your health plan operates in different regions, we can provide an optional plan comparison chart. With this, you can see how each plan compares to our book of business. You’ll also see how your plans perform against one another.
While economic challenges necessitate careful budgeting, the short- and long-term benefits of keeping smoking and vaping cessation programs that deliver cost savings, health outcomes, and member engagement are compelling.
Health plans that prioritize cessation treatment demonstrate that they value both fiscal responsibility and member health—and ensure they remain resilient and effective, regardless of economic circumstances.
See a demo of how we help health plans engage more members in quitting. Or start a conversation today by completing a contact us form.
