AHA Support of House Improving Senior’s Timely Access to Care Act

Dear Representatives Kelly, DelBene, Bucshon and Bera:

On behalf of our nearly 5,000 member hospitals, health systems and other health care organizations, our clinician partners — including more than 270,000 affiliated physicians, 2 million nurses and other caregivers — and the 43,000 health care leaders who belong to our professional membership groups, the American Hospital Association (AHA) is pleased to support your legislation, the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act.

Inefficient prior authorization requirements are a pervasive problem among certain plans in the Medicare Advantage (MA) program that result in delays in care and add financial burden and strain to the health care system. Your bipartisan legislation would address these issues through streamlining prior authorization requirements under MA plans by eliminating complexity and promoting uniformity that would reduce the wide variation in prior authorization methods that frustrate both patients and providers.

Specifically, your bill would establish an electronic prior authorization standard to streamline approvals, reduce the amount of time a health plan is allowed to consider a prior authorization request, require MA plans to report on their use of prior authorization and the rate of approvals and denials, and encourage MA plans to adopt policies that adhere to evidence-based guidelines.

Thank you for your support to improve the prior authorization process to increase patient access to care and reduce burden for providers. We look forward to continuing to work with you on this issue and urge Congress to pass this bill to ensure all Medicare beneficiaries have access to timely and appropriate care.

Sincerely,
/s/
Stacey Hughes
Executive Vice President