Many professional healthcare organizations are hopeful that the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act of 2022 will pass the Senate since it has already passed the U.S. House of Representatives.
Since 2019, prior authorization requirements have increased drastically with over 90% of practitioners (according to the Medical Group Management Association Stat 2019) indicating extremely long wait times for final prior authorization approval. The legislation moves to decrease manual intervention, replacing it with automation thus moving this process into the 21st century. It would promote greater transparency from the Medicare Advantage Plan (MA) model to publically reveal what services require prior authorizations, the number of approvals and the average wait time.
As this legislation moves to the Senate, the hope is that this will streamline the process for obtaining prior authorizations and help deliver quality care and clear a path for seniors to receive the care their medical professionals deem necessary.
APS will continue to monitor the progress of this legislation and provide updates as they arise.
