Draft Bipartisan Letter To CMS: Tell MA Plans They Can't Use Prior Authorization To Limit Services

Reps. Phil Roe (R-TN) and Ami Bera (D-CA) are asking colleagues join them on a letter asking CMS Administrator Seema Verma to inform Medicare Advantage plans they can't use prior authorization to inhibit access to services. The letter follows agency meetings with specialty groups, who also worry prior authorization is limiting care, and a legal analysis that says the extensive use of prior authorization by MA plans has imposed legally problematic barriers to medically necessary services. However, that analysis hinges...