Week of Action Galvanizes Support for Prior Authorization Reform

Academy members generated a major wave of action earlier this month as part of a Regulatory Relief Coalition-led Week of Action campaign, sending 330 letters to lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate. The Academy is a founding member of the coalition.

More than 100 of you sent letters to offices of 104 House representatives and 66 senators, urging them to support the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (HR 3173/S 3018). You also used social media to get lawmakers to act on this important legislation.

After the week-long campaign, an additional 11 representatives and four senators co-sponsored the legislation. There are 272 co-sponsors on the House bill and 22 co-sponsors on the Senate bill.

Prior authorization creates burdens that negatively affect physicians and patients, according to an American Medical Association survey. About a third of physicians surveyed said prior authorizations have caused a serious adverse event. Nine out of 10 said for patients whose treatments required prior authorization, the process had a somewhat or significant negative effect on their clinical outcomes.

The Academy and Regulatory Relief Coalition are working with more than 450 organizations to push Congress to enact the strongly bipartisan-supported Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act.

The Week of Action isn’t the end of our efforts to reform prior authorization. Prior authorization also will be a major point of discussion during Congressional Advocacy Day visits on Capitol Hill at Mid-Year Forum 2022.

You can still send a strong message to your legislator and join our profession’s efforts to protect patients by calling for prior authorization reform.