Professionals

Case Study: Medicare Stop Smoking Program

Problem:

With people living longer, the Medicare program recognized the need to re-evaluate programs and benefits offered to beneficiaries with the objective of promoting healthy aging. In 1998 the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) contracted with Qualidigm and the RAND Corporation to test a potential new benefit aimed at helping seniors stop smoking. CMS needed to know if people with Medicare would take advantage of options such as Quitline counseling services and over-the-counter patch medications. They also were interested in finding out if the seniors who did avail them of these services quit, and if so, for how long.

Solution:

Qualidigm and RAND designed a seven-state pilot of a new smoking cessation benefit program that ran for 18 months. Major project components included:

• Successful application to the Office of Management & Budget for a budget-neutral benefit demonstration project.
• Design of the four-armed intervention.
• Design of media and outreach strategies to promote enrollment.
• Pre and post-evaluation of smokers for outcomes.
• Cost benefit analysis of the demonstration.

For more information on how Qualidigm can help you design and test programs, contact the Marketing & Communications Department.