Senate Letter Urging CMS to Finalize Prior Auth Rules

• The Honorable Xavier Becerra
  Secretary
  U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
  200 Independence Avenue, S.W.
  Washington, D.C. 20201
• The Honorable Chiquita Brooks-LaSure
  Administrator
  U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
  7500 Security Boulevard
  Baltimore, M.D. 21244

Dear Secretary Becerra and Administrator Brooks-LaSure:

We write to thank the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) for taking action toward ensuring timely access to health care by proposing rules to streamline prior authorization (PA) protocols for individuals enrolled in federally-sponsored health insurance programs, including Medicare Advantage (MA) plans.¹²³ We urge CMS to promptly finalize and implement these changes to increase transparency and improve the prior authorization process for patients, providers, and health plans. We also urge CMS to expand on these proposed rules by: (1) establishing a mechanism for real-time electronic prior authorization (e-PA) decisions for routinely approved items and services; (2) requiring that plans respond to PA requests within 24 hours for urgently needed care; and (3) requiring detailed transparency metrics.

Click here to read the full Senate Letter Urging CMS to Finalize Prior Auth Rules.