Will Medicare pay for services to help me stop smoking?

En español | Medicare’s Part B benefit offers free smoking-cessation counseling with a doctor over several sessions that can be repeated in subsequent years if you don’t manage to quit at first. You can also obtain antismoking medications through a Medicare Part D prescription drug plan, if prescribed by a doctor. Research has found that counseling and medications together are more effective in helping people quit smoking than using them separately.

• Counseling sessions: Medicare pays for two “quit smoking” attempts a year, and each attempt includes four counseling sessions — a total of eight in any 12-month period. The sessions are free (no deductible or copays) if you have them with a doctor who accepts assignment — that is, who has agreed to the Medicare-approved payment as full compensation. (Ask the doctor’s office whether he or she accepts assignment.)
• Prescription drugs: You can get antismoking medications through your Medicare Part D drug plan if a doctor prescribes them and if your Part D plan covers them. (Check with the plan.) Medicare does not cover antismoking medications that are sold over the counter without a prescription.

Note: Medicare does not cover hypnosis or devices such as e-cigarettes as ways to stop smoking tobacco.