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Senate panel advances SB99 to limit insurer 'step therapy' practices after lengthy debate; employers and carriers urge amendments
Summary
SB99, a step-therapy reform bill sponsored by Senator Bledsoe to ease 'fail-first' insurance protocols, drew extensive testimony from physicians and patient groups in favor and from insurers warning of higher costs; the committee voted to pass after sponsors agreed to consider five amendments.
Senator Bledsoe introduced Senate Bill 99 to reform step-therapy (so-called 'fail-first') insurance protocols, saying the goal is "the right medication at the right time for the right patient." The sponsor said at least 25 states have enacted similar reforms. Dr. Shalendra Singh, a practicing rheumatologist, described a patient case in which a physician-preferred biologic was denied and the patient postponed pregnancy because of delay…
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