Exhausted by prior auth, many patients abandon care: AMA survey JUL 18, 2024

https://www.ama-assn.org/practice-management/prior-authorization/exhausted-prior-auth-many-patients-abandon-care-ama-survey?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz--35uNu61f8MF_BYN_4Mje6NhmJUzz9sCws3V4RByj2KpZGbxF2oJHRAluhBasmthp1aQ1v2kl8Y826LxDBIL_dmoRemg&_hsmi=316676560&utm_content=316676560&utm_source=hs_email Prior authorization hurts patient care: Survey Seventy-eight percent of physicians say that the prior authorization process “often or sometimes” leads their patients to abandon treatment, according to an AMA survey of 1,000 practicing physicians. Prior authorization requires clinicians to get approval from an insurer to pay for a medication or service before actually providing it. The vast majority of physicians surveyed (94%) responded that prior authorization sometimes, often, or always delays patients trying to access necessary care. Almost 20% said that prior authorization has resulted in a serious adverse event that hospitalized someone. The stakes are high and insurers have a lot of power, which is why clinicians were outraged last summer when UnitedHealthcare attempted to instate a prior authorization policy for colonoscopies. Earlier this year, the Biden administration finalized a rule forcing insurance companies to give specific reasons for denying coverage. https://www.statnews.com/2024/01/17/prior-authorization-health-insurance-white-house/?utm_campaign=morning_rounds&utm_medium=email&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_aHtyaIlQXAtes4On3S8Du76XrOIine-BqXT10z75LfrXkhABpOwZugZCMPqso4SQhrVZrnUI6ZLaZNum2DsJyH0bJxg&_hsmi=316676560&utm_content=316676560&utm_source=hs_email