Tobacco counseling for Medicare beneficiaries

There is a change being made at Medicare that will help seniors now to stop smoking. Before medicare only covered counseling for individuals diagnosed with a tobacco related disease. For too long tobacco users had been denied access to counseling. With this new coverage any smoker will be able to get counseling. Tobacco remains the leading cause of preventable illness and death in the United States. Smokers who successfully quit, the health benefits will begin immediately and continue for the rest of your lives. These benefits include reducing death from coronary heart disease, chronic obstructive lung disease, lung and other cancers. This new coverage will apply to services under Parts A and B of Medicare, and does not change Part D. And in the coming months there will be a new benefit for pregnant women to receive Medicaid covered tobacco counseling.