Prior Authorization Requirements and Medicaid Enrollees’ Use of Tobacco Cessation Medications, Colorado, 2023

Despite tobacco cessation medications being a first-line treatment for quitting smoking, a majority of Medicaid programs require health care providers to obtain prior authorization before prescribing them. We examined the impact of Colorado’s Medicaid program removing its prior authorization requirement for these drugs on their use and estimated the additional number of Coloradoans who used these therapies in 2023 because of the policy change. The findings indicate that these requirements decrease low-income people’s use of these medications. ( Am J Public Health. 2025;115(1):42–46. https://doi.org/10.2105/AJPH.2024.307868 )

Authorization · Environmental health · Family medicine · Health care · Medicaid · Political science · Prior authorization · Public health · Smoking cessation · Tobacco use · Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations · Healthcare Policy and Management · Medicine · Nursing · Smoking Behavior and Cessation · Gerontology