Committee hears bipartisan push to reform prior authorization; bill would increase transparency and require electronic tools

The Senate Committee on Health Care held a public hearing on House Bill 3134 A, a measure that supporters described as a targeted reform to prior authorization (PA) processes used by insurers.

The bill’s sponsors and medical association representatives told the committee PA often delays medically necessary care, pushes patients to abandon treatment and heightens clinician administrative burden. The measure would make three principal changes: (1) require the Department of Consumer and Business Services to publish aggregated prior authorization data the department already collects; (2) ensure insurers reimburse medically necessary or emergent procedures discovered during surgery even if they were not preapproved at the time of booking; and (3) require insurers to adopt an electronic interface that indicates whether PA is required and which documents…