U.S. Senators John Boozman, Roger Marshall, and Mark Warner have introduced the bipartisan Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act. This legislation aims to expedite access to care for Americans enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans by streamlining the prior authorization process. The goal is to allow healthcare providers more time for patient care instead of administrative tasks.
The bill is designed to assist physicians in serving the 32.8 million Americans enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan, including over 300,000 Arkansans. Senator Boozman emphasized the importance of accessible medical care for seniors and reducing bureaucratic burdens on clinicians: “Quality, expedited medical care should always be within reach for seniors, and our providers deserve a system that helps them focus on delivering it.”
Senator Marshall highlighted the administrative challenges faced by physicians due to prior authorization processes: “Prior authorization is the number one administrative burden facing physicians today across all specialties.” He expressed his support for streamlining these processes through this bipartisan effort.
Senator Warner stressed the need for timely high-quality care for seniors: “Our seniors deserve high-quality care delivered in a timely fashion.” He supports modernizing prior authorization processes to ensure healthcare providers can concentrate on patient support.
The proposed legislation would establish an electronic prior authorization process for Medicare Advantage plans and clarify timeframes for e-prior authorization requests under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). It also requires HHS and other agencies to report improvements in program integrity efforts related to e-prior authorizations.
Forty-four senators have cosponsored this bill, with companion legislation introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives. The Better Medicare Alliance, Humana, and 138 other healthcare organizations back this initiative.
Mary Beth Donahue from Better Medicare Alliance commented on the importance of simplifying prior authorizations: “Prior authorization helps keep health care costs low and ensures seniors are getting the most appropriate care.” Humana CEO Jim Rechtin also expressed support: “It is a common-sense approach to making healthcare easier by modernizing the prior authorization process.”
Text of the bill is available online.
