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.
1. I went to a pain clinic for steroid injection in my back but the doctor wanted an MRI first. Insurance says no MRI since there was one done about 2 years prior. Doctor filed appeal but still no and then he wouldn’t do injection because there was no MRI.
2. My husband has several bad discs and severe spinal compression. Doctor said insurance company won’t authorize until he gets physical therapy and a steroid injection, although the doctor said it won’t help. 5 months later we’re waiting to see the doctor to get papers filed for prior authorization to get a surgery, which everyone knew was needed originally. In the meantime, he can’t work and we are paying COBRA insurance.
It took three days to get an $8 prescription of generic Celebrex [anti-inflammatory drug], that I needed at home immediately after knee replacement surgery. My insurer demanded three different authorizations from my surgeon because it wasn’t in their formulary. The opiate was immediately dispensed. I was mad!
I need prior auth for my continuous glucose monitor every time I get sensors for it- this device alone has saved my life more times than I can count, yet the insurer thinks it isn’t a necessity!
It took me a month just to get a blood glucose meter because of 'prior authorization.'
Really, my doctor wanted me to do hormone shots with my chemo but [the insurer] refused, so we had to go on a hormone pill instead. Took 3 weeks to get my chemo pill approved… the shots probably would have been more potent.