The following statement is attributable to:
Jack Resneck Jr., M.D.
President, American Medical Association

“You don’t have to be a congressional insider to read the tea leaves behind House passage today of a bill to reform the onerous prior authorization process afflicting patients and physicians. Two major House committees—Ways and Means as well as Energy and Commerce—overwhelmingly endorsed the bill, and it passed the full House in a rare show of bipartisan support.

“The House recognized that prior authorization is an insurance companies’ practice that is overused, costly, opaque, burdensome to physicians, and harmful to patients due to delays in care. The American Medical Association is committed to fixing prior authorization and made doing so a central plank of our Recovery Plan for America’s Physicians.

“Now that the House has passed this legislation, we urge the Senate to do likewise. There is a Senate companion bill that also has bipartisan support. While health care legislation often divides Congress, here is a bipartisan way to improve patient health. The tea leaves suggest this can get done this year.” 

The AMA continues to work on every front to reduce this obstacle that interferes with patient care. Through our research, collaborations, advocacy and leadership, the AMA is working to right-size prior authorization programs so that physicians can focus on patients rather than paperwork. Patients, physicians, and employers can learn more about reform efforts and share their personal experiences with prior authorization at FixPriorAuth.org.