Some of the nation’s largest insurance providers are pledging to make major reforms to the prior authorization process, a practice requiring insurance company sign-off for certain treatments that contributes to delayed or abandoned care for millions of Americans each year.
“Americans shouldn’t have to negotiate with their insurer to get the care they need,” Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., said Monday, announcing the changes at a meeting of insurance groups in Washington. “Pitting patients and their doctors against massive companies was not good for anyone.”
