As a nurse I would spend 30 minutes or more on prior authorizations. The insurance companies would expect doctors to do these calls!  I would often call the insurance company to speak to a prior auth agent who obviously was not medically trained. They could not even correctly pronounce the medication name! They had no idea what the drug was for. They were just working off an algorithm. Try telling them a complicated reason why this patient must have this med...not gonna happen. In my opinion, this is all a way to prevent patients from getting drugs they need. Basically, some uneducated prior auth agent gets to nix a physician order!!!

– Sue F., California
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Have you ever gone to the pharmacy to fill a prescription only to be told that your insurance company requires approval before they'll cover your treatment? Have you ever waited for days, weeks or months for a test or medical procedure to be scheduled because you needed authorization from an insurer? Or are you a physician frustrated with the administrative headaches and their impact on your patients?

Please tell us know how prior authorization has impacted you. We are looking for stories from patients and physicians to highlight and draw attention to this issue that is impacting the health of so many Americans.

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