Medicare Aims to Help Older Smokers Quit
From Times Wire Reports
Medicare has said it intends to pay for counseling to help some of the nation’s 4 million older smokers kick the habit.
Medicare beneficiaries who smoke and have smoking-related diseases or take certain medicines will be eligible for counseling next year. Medicare chief Mark McClellan said coverage would begin no later than the end of March.
Medicare would pay for up to four counseling sessions. If that doesn’t suffice, smokers could get a second round of counseling.
