I am a Health First Colorado member with documented lifelong mixed urge incontinence — both urinary and bowel — with no warning before accidents. I wear prescribed incontinence briefs 24 hours a day, every day.
Health First Colorado covers my briefs and booster pads (360 incontinence products per month), two boxes of gloves per month, two tubes of barrier cream per month, and bed pads — and I am grateful for that. But the benefit stops there. My plan does not cover the hygiene supplies that safe, sanitary round-the-clock brief use requires:
- Disposable cleansing wipes
- Moisture-absorbing powders
- No-rinse perineal cleansers and washes
- Skin lotions and/or baby oil
No washes of any kind are covered, no lotions, and no other skin care products whatsoever — barrier cream is the only one.
These are not luxuries or comforts. They are the basic tools of sanitary incontinence care, and going without them puts every 24/7 brief wearer at risk:
WIPES — Every change requires thorough cleansing. Without wipes, people are left with dry toilet paper — abrasive, ineffective, tearing at tender skin. Incomplete cleaning leads directly to diaper dermatitis, a painful, recognized medical condition.
POWDER — Moisture plus friction is what breaks skin down. Absorbent powder keeps skin dry between changes and reduces chafing. Without it, raw, weeping skin follows — an open door for infection.
WASHES AND CLEANSERS — Wiping alone does not fully clean, especially with bowel incontinence. No-rinse perineal cleansers remove what wipes leave behind without harsh scrubbing.
LOTIONS AND/OR BABY OIL — Skin under a brief 24 hours a day dries, cracks, and thins — and cracked skin is broken skin, vulnerable to every bacteria it meets.
Going without these supplies means diaper dermatitis, skin breakdown, fungal and bacterial infections, and urinary tract infections — leading to doctor visits, prescriptions, and urgent care that cost Medicaid MORE than the preventive supplies would.
I am petitioning the Colorado Department of Health Care Policy & Financing to expand the incontinence supply benefit to include disposable cleansing wipes, moisture-absorbing powders, perineal cleansers and washes, and skin lotions and/or baby oil, when prescribed as medically necessary for members with documented incontinence.
Prevention costs less than treatment. Please sign and share.
