Att-2b

Attachment 2B. Summary of Public Comments and CDC Response

Comment #1: Request Received in Response to Publication of the 60-day Federal
Register Notice:

From: Holdridge, Elaine [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Thursday, September 25, 2008 7:43 AM
To: OMB-Comments (CDC)
Subject: Federal Register/Vol. 73, No. 187/Thursday, September 25, 2008/Notices - Proposed
Project: State Medicaid Tobacco Coverage Survey (OMB No. 0920-0691)
Good morning,
I am interested in reviewing a copy of the data collection plans and instruments for the State
Medicaid Tobacco Coverage Survey (OMB No. 0920-0691) listed in today’s Federal Register.
I have copied the notice below for your information. Thank you for your assistance.
Elaine

Elaine Holdridge
Grants-In-Aid Program Assistant 2
Bureau of Grants Management and Federal Policy
NYS Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services
1450 Western Avenue
Albany, NY 12203
Telephone: (518) 485-0510
E-mail: [email protected]

CDC Response to Comment #1:

Copies of the requested materials were sent to the requestor via email.

Comment #2 and CDC’s response are included on the following pages of this attachment.

November 24, 2008

Ms. Maryam Daneshvar
Acting Reports Clearance Officer
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
1600 Clifton Road, MS-D74
Atlanta, GA 30333
RE:

Proposed Data Collection – State Medicaid Tobacco Coverage Survey
(OMB No. 0920-0691)–Reinstatement; 73 Fed. Reg. 55515 (September 25, 2008)

Dear Ms. Daneshvar:
On behalf of the physician and medical student members of the American Medical
Association (AMA), I am writing in response to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention’s (CDC) request for public comment on data collections associated with state
Medicaid tobacco coverage. The AMA supports the continuation of this survey and does
not believe that completing this survey is a burden for state officials.
Medicaid provides health coverage for low-income children and adults, medical and longterm care coverage for people with disabilities, and assistance with health and long-term
care expenses for low-income seniors. Nearly 59 million people rely on Medicaid services
and children represent half of those covered by Medicaid.
Medicaid recipients smoke at higher rates than the general public, posing a tremendous
public health problem. Approximately 35 percent of adult Medicaid recipients smoke
compared to 21 percent of the general adult population 18 and older. Tobacco use remains
the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. Exposure to secondhand
smoke ranks third in causes of preventable death. One in four children under the age of 11
is exposed to secondhand smoke, primarily by parental smoking. Each year, tobacco use in
the United States results in $193 billion in health-care costs and lost productivity including
an estimated 14 percent of Medicaid costs.
The AMA supports requiring state Medicaid programs to provide evidence-based
approaches for smoking cessation and nicotine withdrawal. Treating tobacco dependence
requires a comprehensive and consistent approach. Currently each state defines coverage
independently without clearly defined definitions. This survey will assist policy analysts in

Ms. Maryam Daneshvar
November 24, 2008
Page 2

developing uniformity among states to ensure Medicaid recipients receive evidenced-based
smoking cessation services. The CDC survey is also an important tool in evaluating the
states’ progress in achieving the 2010 National Health Objectives and Healthy People 2010
goals.
Sincerely,

Michael D. Maves, MD, MBA

Public Health Service

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH & HUMAN SERVICES
______________________________________________________________________________________________
Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention (CDC)
Atlanta GA 30341-3724

January 5, 2009

Michael D. Maves, MD, MBA
Executive Vice President, CEO
American Medical Association
515 North State Street
Chicago, Illinois 60610
Dear Dr. Maves,
The CDC Office on Smoking and Health sincerely appreciates the AMA support for the state Medicaid
Survey recently posted in the Federal Register. We have been conducting this survey annually in
conjunction with the University of California Berkeley, Center for Health and Public Policy Studies for the
past several years. During this time there has been some movement toward more comprehensive coverage
for tobacco dependence treatment under state Medicaid programs. There is a Healthy People 2010
objective stating the need for comprehensive coverage for low income individuals. Having the data has
helped the states to be more assertive in moving their policies forward.
The survey has also provided an opportunity to apply an evidence-based approach to evaluating coverage
which will help in creating a greater level of uniformity across states.

Sincerely,

CAPT Matthew McKenna, MD, MPH
Director
Office on Smoking and Health
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention