If a service is approved more than 90% of the time, it should automatically be removed from prior authorization requirements.Patients shouldn’t have to fight through layers of insurance paperwork to receive treatments insurers approve anyway.
Few things frustrate patients more than the insurance paperwork that stands between them and the care they need. A new poll from KFF shows just how serious the problem has become.
Nearly seven in ten Americans say insurer prior authorization requirements are a “burden.” Beyond costs, more than one-third call them the biggest challenge they face navigating the healthcare system. It’s easy to understand the frustration. Prior authorization requires doctors and patients to obtain approval from insurers before certain treatments, medications, or procedures can be covered.
In theory, the process helps insurers prevent unnecessary care and control costs. In practice, it often delays treatment and forces physicians to wade through waves of paperwork.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.
Insurance red tape is delaying care for millions of Americans
Sally C. Pipes
If a service is approved more than 90% of the time, it should automatically be removed from prior authorization requirements.Patients shouldn’t have to fight through layers of insurance paperwork to receive treatments insurers approve anyway.
Few things frustrate patients more than the insurance paperwork that stands between them and the care they need. A new poll from KFF shows just how serious the problem has become.
Nearly seven in ten Americans say insurer prior authorization requirements are a “burden.” Beyond costs, more than one-third call them the biggest challenge they face navigating the healthcare system. It’s easy to understand the frustration. Prior authorization requires doctors and patients to obtain approval from insurers before certain treatments, medications, or procedures can be covered.
In theory, the process helps insurers prevent unnecessary care and control costs. In practice, it often delays treatment and forces physicians to wade through waves of paperwork.
Read the PennLive op-ed here.
Nothing contained in this blog is to be construed as necessarily reflecting the views of the Pacific Research Institute or as an attempt to thwart or aid the passage of any legislation.