Patients and Physicians Speak Out
Prior authorization burdens negatively impact patients and health care professionals around the country every day. Explore their stories and share your own experiences to make your voice heard on the need to #FixPriorAuth.
Featured Stories
Yes, just last year I needed knee surgery. The insurance made me go through 2 weeks of resting it then 3 weeks of physical therapy plus a fluid removal attempt. All this before I could even get an MRI that my ortho doc with 40 yrs experience knew I needed in the first place. After the MRI I had to wait 2 more weeks for approval. From start to finish I was laid up 4 months and even lost my job because I ran out of FMLA. Now I have a wrist injury and I am not going for treatment because I really like my new job and I am afraid to go through it all again.
I went almost two weeks without long-acting insulin and two days without even short-acting insulin waiting for prior authorizations. This landed me in the ER 3 times and sent me into a pancreatitis flare. And wasted about 3 hours of my doctor’s time to get insulin. This was not new either; I have been diabetic since I was a kid, so about 25 years. They also made me switch what kind I use, and that caused my sugar to be out of control for weeks, even after I finally got the insulin, while I determined my correct bolus dose of the new insulin.
Share Your Story
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 days, weeks or months for a test or medical procedure to be scheduled because you needed authorization from an insurer?
Are you a physician frustrated with the administrative headaches and their impact on your patients?
Have prior authorization delays caused you to take more sick days, be less productive at work or miss out on day-to-day life?
Share how prior authorization has impacted you, your loved ones or your patients to draw attention to the need for decision-makers to address this issue. Your voice can make an impact.
All Stories
Use the buttons below to explore how prior authorization impacts both health care professionals and patients throughout the country.
I have a patient with a crush injury to his foot who waited 2 months for appropriate imaging studies and then SIX months for approval to operate. Tell me our system is the best. Please. I have many examples. Everyday.
I have had to make multiple calls and wait as long as 2 weeks trying to obtain authorization for an MRI when there were abnormal mammogram or pelvic sonogram findings. The patients become increasingly anxious about their condition and sometimes angry at me because they think I’m either withholding care or not concerned about their needs.
My patient met the insurance company's prior authorization criteria, which was reasonable. Yet, the authorization was rejected, so I appealed. It was rejected again, even though I pointed out to the agent on the other end of the line that the patient met the criteria. I was about to give up, but decided to call the medical director of the insurance company instead, who granted authorization. I wonder how many people would have given up rather than continue the fight and how much money the insurance company thought it was saving by denying legitimate drug use.
I tried to obtain authorization for Lupron-Depot therapy, but was denied with the excuse that I had not exhausted other treatment modalities such as Danazol. Do they really expect me to put this vulnerable patient, who is already both physically and mentally devastated by her endometriosis, on this horrendous medication? Both the patient and her mother are now literally begging me to do a hysterectomy and bilateral salpingoophorectomy on this 18-year old to relieve her of the torture she goes through on a monthly basis.
They have some damn nerve acting against doctors' wishes for their patients! My doctors have gotten very angry when it happens and have fought successfully to override it but they shouldn't HAVE TO fight to treat their patients!