KFF Health News March 31, 2025
Republicans and Democrats agree prior authorization needs fixing, but patients are growing impatient.
HENRICO, Va. — Sheldon Ekirch spends a lot of time on hold with her health insurance company.
Sometimes, as the minutes tick by and her frustration mounts, Ekirch, 30, opens a meditation app on her phone. It was recommended by her psychologist to help with the depression associated with a stressful and painful medical disorder.
In 2023, Ekirch was diagnosed with small fiber neuropathy, a condition that makes her limbs and muscles feel as if they’re on fire. Now she takes more than a dozen prescriptions to manage chronic pain and other symptoms, including insomnia.
“I don’t feel like I am the person I was a year...