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Insurers, HHS and CMS endorse prior-authorization pledge; ALS patient urges faster approvals
Summary
Insurance executives and federal officials announced a pledge to streamline prior authorization; ALS patient Eric Dane and unnamed speakers said the change aims to reduce delays that affect care.
Insurance industry executives, together with officials from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, announced a pledge intended to streamline prior authorization for care, speakers said at a press event.
Supporters framed the pledge as a step to reduce care delays that patients say are widespread. "85 percent of Americans say that they have had delays in health care because of prior authorization," an unidentified speaker said. The speakers said the pledge will speed approvals and deliver necessary care "when it's needed, in the right way."
Patient Eric Dane, who identified himself at the event as battling amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), described the personal impact of delays. "When that diagnosis hits and you find out that you're sick, your life becomes filled with great uncertainty. And the worst thing that we can do is add even more uncertainty for patients and their loved ones with unnecessary prior authorization," Dane said. He added: "I applaud the insurance industry coming together with officials from CMS and HHS to take these steps in the right direction."
Speakers at the event said insurance executives had agreed to sign a prior-authorization pledge intended to "restore common sense to the process" and to streamline approvals. The event included expressions of gratitude to the insurance CEOs for "stepping up" and a reference to presidential leadership: "I'm very grateful to president Trump or the leadership that has, that has inspired people to take these kind of steps with faith in our country and faith in our future," an unidentified speaker said. The event materials include the note: "Produced by the US Department of Health and Human Services."
The announcement did not include a vote or a statutory action; speakers described an industry pledge and voluntary commitments rather than a binding rule or law. Details about the pledge's specific operational changes, timelines for implementation, and which insurers had signed were not specified in the remarks on the record.
