Resources and News

Learn more about the ongoing effects of prior authorization on patients and physicians over the years. Explore relevant resources and news.

News | Kaiser Family Foundation

KFF Health Tracking Poll: Prior Authorizations Rank as Public Authorizations Biggest Burden When Getting Health Care

A new KFF analysis found that health insurance is the biggest problem for insured adults and found that prior authorizations – or the process of having to get insurance approval before accessing certain tests, treatments, or medications – are having an outsized impact on insured adults. In fact, seven in ten insured adults find the prior authorization process burdensome.

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Featured News

News | Time

When Fighting with Your Insurance Company Becomes a Full-Time Job

Erin Massey is a scientist at a biotech company, but recently, she’s had another practically full-time job: fighting with insurance. Erin shares her struggle with convincing her insurer to pay for her insomnia medication.

News | KFF Health News

‘They Won’t Help Me’: Sickest Patients Face Insurance Denials Despite Policy Fixes

Prior authorization has become a chronic pain point for patients and doctors. Both Republicans and Democrats agree that prior authorization needs fixing, but patients are growing impatient waiting for reform.

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News | Medscape

Cancer Doesn't 'Wait': How Prior Authorization Harms Care

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A 21-year-old with a rare cancer had to wait for prior authorization approval for proton therapy, and as a result, she faced several complications, needing a tracheostomy and feeding tube.

Featured Resources

Resource | AMA

Prior Authorization Explained: What Patients Need to Know

Explore the answers to frequently asked questions that you and your loved ones may have about the prior authorization process.

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Resource | AMA

2025 AMA Prior Authorization Physician Survey

To assess the ongoing impact the prior authorization process has on patients, physicians, employers and overall health care spending, the AMA annually conducts a nationwide survey of 1,000 practicing physicians from a wide range of practice settings.

Resource | AMA

Prior Authorization Employer Toolkit: Facts, Case Studies and FAQs

Dive into how the flawed prior authorization system impacts the workplace by exploring the statistics, case studies and frequently asked questions included in this toolkit.

Resource | CancerCare

2025 Red Tape Report by CancerCare

This report shows that insurance red tape is widespread and can delay diagnosis and treatment, impose administrative burdens, lead to unexpected costs, and erode trust in the healthcare system for cancer patients.

News | AMA

Inside payers' latest plans to streamline prior authorization

With state and federal policymakers eyeing restrictions on health insurers’ use of the care-delaying cost-control process of prior authorization, the nation’s biggest carriers are pledging to make changes on a voluntary basis.

News | Time

How Health Insurance Monopolies Affect Your Care

Dr. Richard Menger, a neurosurgeon, was ready to operate on a 16-year-old with complex scoliosis. The surgery was scheduled for a Friday when Menger got the news: the teen’s insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, had denied coverage for the surgery.

News | AMA

AMA responds as health insurers try again at prior authorization reform

Bobby Mukkamala, M.D., President of the American Medical Association, credits agency officials and federal lawmakers for leadership and holding the industry accountable to address the urgent need to fix prior authorization.

News | KFF Health News

'Not Accountable to Anyone': As Insurers Issue Denials, Some Patients Run Out of Options

Health insurers issue millions of denials every year, and for Eric Tennant, he found himself stuck in a convoluted appeals process marked by long wait times, frustrating customer service encounters, and care that was deemed “not medically necessary.”

News | STAT News

UnitedHealth said it was too dangerous for him to be discharged. Days later, it denied his care

Megan Bent’s father had been recovering at a rehabilitation facility after brain surgery. The medical team expected he would need to spend at least three months in the facility, but just three days later, he was denied care.

News | AMA

Patients' stories push lawmakers to act on prior authorization

Critical changes are needed to fix the time-wasting, care-delaying payer process. Highlighting a single patient's experience with prior authorization can catalyze reform.

News | Time

When Fighting with Your Insurance Company Becomes a Full-Time Job

Resource | AMA

Video: How does prior authorization affect employees?

Prior authorization increases workplace absenteeism, presenteeism, treatment abandonment and health care costs. Watch this video to learn more about the impacts prior authorization can have on employees.

Resource | AMA

Video: AI in health insurance claims, why prior authorization is so difficult and how AMA fights to fix it

In this video, AMA President Bruce A. Scott, MD, shares key takeaways from the AMA's recent prior auth survey, discusses physicians' concerns about prior authorization in health care and describes how prior authorization negatively impacts employers by reducing employee health and productivity.

News | KFF Health News

‘They Won’t Help Me’: Sickest Patients Face Insurance Denials Despite Policy Fixes

News | The Hill

Bipartisan bill seeks to reform prior authorization

Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) reintroduced a bill seeking to reform prior authorization requirements in Medicare, Medicare Advantage, and Part D prescription drug plans by requiring important decisions about treatment to be made by only specialty board certified physicians.