Medical Economics September 14, 2022
Support already strong in Senate, so vote could happen this year.
The U.S. House of Representatives unanimously passed legislation that would streamline the prior authorization (PA) process used for Medicare Advantage patients.
The Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act, which has earned strong support from medical organizations, will move to the Senate for consideration. It already has strong bipartisan support there.
The law proposes to make it easier for senior patients to get care and improve health outcomes by modernizing the “antiquated” prior authorization process, which often still requires using facsimile machines to send documents to insurance companies, said the announcement from sponsoring lawmakers. Nationally, about 28 million seniors use Medicare Advantage plans for their health insurance.
The legislation...