NC Medicaid Will Require 100% Tobacco-Free Campuses in July 2022
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
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Posted by: Valerie Arendt
Most NC Medicaid beneficiaries and service providers will be able to breathe easy next summer, knowing that when they seek care or go to work that the air will be free from secondhand smoke. Starting July 1, 2022, North Carolina Standard and Tailored Prepaid Health Plans serving Medicaid and uninsured patients will require contracted medical, behavioral health, and some intellectual/developmental disabilities (IDD)/traumatic brain injury (TBI) organizations to provide a 100% tobacco-free campus. On September 7, 2021, DHHS released a memo to providers advising them of the new tobacco-related policy requirements going into effect next summer. To learn how this requirement might apply to your agency, read the provider memo on NC Medicaid’s blog. Retail pharmacies are excluded from this requirement and certain residential IDD/TBI programs have a different set of requirements. Breathe Easy NC: Becoming Tobacco Free, is the statewide initiative created to support this policy change. Service providers can visit BreatheEasyNC.org for the resources and information providers will need to take campuses tobacco-free and integrate tobacco use treatment into their services. Service providers can also contact their county’s regional or local tobacco control staff directly for assistance. The North Carolina Division of Public Health Tobacco Prevention and Control Branch, the Division of Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities/Substance Abuse Services, and the Division of Health Benefits coordinate Breathe Easy NC: Becoming Tobacco Free, which works to eliminate tobacco related health disparities experienced by people with behavioral health conditions or IDD/TBI and help all types of service providers with tobacco use treatment integration and tobacco-free campuses. If you have any questions, check out these Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) webpages from Breathe Easy NC: NC Standard & Tailored Plan Tobacco-Free Requirement FAQ for Behavioral Health & Medical Provider Agencies NC Standard & Tailored Plan Tobacco Related Policies FAQ for Organizations that Serve People with IDD or TBI NC Standard and Tailored Plan Tobacco-Free Requirement FAQ for Clients, Families, and Staff For additional questions, please contact Stephanie Gans at stephanie.gans@dhhs.nc.gov.
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