5 Takeaways From Health Insurers’ New Pledge To Improve Prior Authorization

(By Lauren Sausser and Phil Galewitz for KFF Health News)

Nearly seven months after the fatal shooting of an insurance CEO in New York drew widespread attention to health insurers’ practice of denying or delaying doctor-ordered care, the largest U.S. insurers agreed Monday to streamline their often cumbersome preapproval system.

Dozens of insurance companies, including Cigna, Aetna, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare, agreed to several measures, which include making fewer medical procedures subject to prior authorization and speeding up the review process. Insurers also pledged to use clear language when communicating with patients and promised that medical professionals would review coverage denials. Continue reading here…

Kaiser Health News is a nonprofit national health polity news service that is part of the nonpartisan Henry J. Kaiser Family Foundation

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