Health Insurers Must Streamline Prior Authorization Decisions, New Rule Says

The Biden administration on Wednesday finalized requirements to streamline the process for doctors and patients seeking health insurance approval for medical care and treatments. The rule aims to shorten the timeline for the so-called prior authorization process to as little as 72 hours for many of the tens of millions of people who get their health insurance through Medicare Advantage, Medicaid or an Affordable Care Act health plan by automating some of the processing of the requests. Plans would also have to share more information with doctors about the status of decisions and information on denials, with a turnaround time of seven calendar days for non-urgent requests.