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.
Recently, [I] had back surgery and was discharged on medications for pain recommended by the neurosurgeon. They had to be prior authorized, and one was delayed so long that I did not even get it many days later when it was finally approved… I just had to grin and bear the pain. I am a primary care physician, and we are not exempt from the red tape created to enrich insurance companies that goes under the name of "prior authorization."
I have seen patients not able to get their Depo-Provera shots in time due to need for prior authorization and patients that have to wait for PA in order to schedule their required imaging, causing at least a 1-2-week delay. This is UNNECESSARY and frustrating when you think that the patient shouldn’t need to wait that long (seeing how if they were in the ER, they wouldn't have to wait, but rather you are going to punish the patient for going to their PCP instead?? BACKWARDS!!!). These are just the 2 examples from my last week in practice...and do not get me started on the amount of time (easily hours!) my staff spends EVERY week filling out prior authorization forms for medications, some of which are merely continuations of therapy medications for patients.