From time to time on Neurosurgery Blog, you will see us cross-posting or linking to items from other places that we believe will be of interest to our readers. Today’s post originally appeared in MedPage Today on June 25. In the op-ed, neurosurgeon and chair of the American Association of Neurological Surgeons/Congress of Neurological Surgeons Washington Committee John K. Ratliff, MD, FAANS, discusses how prior authorization is hurting patients and how bipartisan legislation in Congress can help address these problems in Medicare Advantage.
Dr. Ratliff points out that prior authorization, an administrative process requiring physicians to obtain pre-approval for medical treatments or tests before rendering this care to their patients, is becoming more common. Obtaining approval from insurers is burdensome and costly to physician practices. Without timely care, his patients often face permanent neurologic damage and sometimes death.
The Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 3173/S. 3018) would create an electronic prior authorization process and pave the way for immediate approvals for medical services that are routinely approved. This legislation would also improve transparency on the use of prior authorization, ensure that qualified medical personnel review prior authorization requests and protect beneficiaries from disruptions in care.
Click here to read the full article.
Editor’s Note: We hope you will share what you learn from our posts. We invite you to join the conversation on Twitter by using the hashtag #FixPriorAuth and following @Neurosurgery.
Moments after Dr. Langer fell while skiing in Colorado, he realized he couldn’t move his legs, “I’m a neurosurgeon who can’t move, I thought. Now what?” After being airlifted to a Denver hospital, he was diagnosed with