The Health First Colorado (Colorado's Medicaid program) pharmacy benefit covers FDA-approved tobacco cessation medications.
- Effective November 1, 2018 prior authorization is not required for tobacco cessation medications including nicotine gum, nicotine patch, nicotine lozenge, nicotine inhaler (Nicotrol®), varenicline (Chantix®), and bupropion SR (Zyban®).
- Smoking and tobacco cessation resources are available at no charge to members or providers through the Colorado QuitLine found at coquitline.org or by calling 1-800-QUIT-NOW.
Until your patient is ready to quit, you can advise them to protect their children by always stepping outside their home and car to smoke. Secondhand smoke contains more than 4000 chemicals, including 50 cancer-causing poisons. Children who breathe secondhand smoke are more likely to develop ear infections, allergies, bronchitis, pneumonia and asthma. It can even lead to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS).
For more information about resources please go to coquitline.org and Tobacco Free Colorado. For additional information about helping your patients to quit smoking and how to bill Health First Colorado for these services, please refer to the Benefits Summary.
Additional information for clients is available on the Quit Smoking page.
Additional Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Resources for Providers