Despite tougher state laws enacted last year to discourage smoking, fewer than one in four health-insurance brokers in Iowa actively market smoking-cessation benefits to their clients, according to a study released this morning by Iowans for Wellness & Prevention.

The study, which surveyed 277 health underwriters in Iowa, is the first comprehensive attempt in the nation to gain insight directly from health-insurance brokers, said Dr. Tom Evans, chairman of Iowans for Wellness & Prevention and president of the Iowa Health Care Collaborative. The study was unveiled during a “Successful Worksite Wellness Seminar” hosted by the Greater Des Moines Partnership at the West Des Moines Sheraton.

“We wanted to share the unique perspective of the health insurance broker on wellness and prevention with employers across Iowa to help encourage further adoption of these important benefits,” Evans said in a press release Smoking-cessation programs were among the benefits examined in the study.

Among the study’s findings:

• Nearly two out of three Iowa employers offering smoking cessation benefits have coverage inconsistent with U.S. Center for Disease Control & Prevention guidelines.

• Although 55 percent of brokers agree or strongly agree that the public smoking ban spurred more employer interest in smoking cessation, fewer than one in four brokers have actively marketed smoking cessation benefits to their clients as a result of the cigarette tax increase and the public smoking ban.

• Nearly 71 percent of brokers support tax incentives to help employers offer wellness and prevention and smoking-cessation benefits.

• 80 percent of large brokerage firms and 50 percent of small brokerage firms offer wellness and prevention programs. Half of small firm agents actively work with their clients to adopt wellness and prevention programs compared to 90 percent of agents at larger firms.

“While brokers overwhelmingly agree wellness and prevention and smoking cessation are valuable to their clients, significant room for improvement exists for adoption of these programs and insurance benefits,” said Eric Kohlsdorf, president of the Iowa Association of Health Underwriters.

Kohlsdorf warned against saying bigger is better. “Clearly there are a number of small firms that are not as engaged in wellness and prevention, but there are a number of small firms that are leaders and real innovators on this front,” he said. “It’s more about the sophistication of the individual broker firm and the clientele they serve.”