Patients and Physicians Speak Out

See how patients and health care professionals around the country are negatively impacted by prior authorization burdens.

Audience

Watch

– Alëna Balasanova, MD, Nebraska
– Barbara McAneny, MD, New Mexico
– Cindy Firkins-Smith, MD, Minnesota
– Benjamin Galper, MD, Maryland
– Linda H., Maryland
– Kathryn J., Connecticut
– Hugh Taylor, MD, Massachusetts
– Candace M., Georgia
– Daniel P. Edney, MD, Mississippi
– Frank Dowling, MD, New York
– Matthew Grierson, MD, Washington
– Jack Resneck, Jr., MD, California
– Virginia Hall, MD, Pennsylvania
– Thomas Eppes, Jr., MD, Virginia
– Frank Dowling, MD, New York
– Mary Campagnolo, MD, New Jersey

Read

I have ADD . . . Quite a kicker that I need the drugs to be able to concentrate enough to get through the red tape to get the drug.

– Megan T., Minnesota
Read More >

I am on Medicare with an assisted cost plan administered by [my health plan].  I have ADD, inattentive type. Every single psycho-stimulant drug for my treatment requires prior authorization. Every. Single. One. Quite a kicker that I need the drugs to be able to concentrate enough to get through the red tape to get the drug.

– Megan T., Minnesota

Lidocaine patches are the only thing that eases the pain but the insurance company won’t cover them without prior authorization. . . what am I left with for the pain? Absolutely nothing.

– Nadine G., Michigan
Read More >

The problem for me is getting the prescriptions that I need. I have a back injury that I had surgery for but still have issues with pain, mostly sciatica. My doctor won’t write for narcotics, Tylenol doesn’t help and I can’t take anti-inflammatory meds due to being on blood thinners and having already had a GI bleed. Lidocaine patches are the only thing that eases the pain, but the insurance company won’t cover them without prior authorization and because I don’t have diabetic neuropathy or shingles. Go figure! So now what am I left with for the pain? Absolutely nothing. Why can’t they just use common sense?

– Nadine G., Michigan

Despite being on this lifelong medication for over eight years, I still need a prior auth completed yearly which generally results in a period of time without the medication.

– Kellie M., Florida
Read More >

Due to a medication I take needing prior auth, I have at times been without the medication. I have had the medication denied, leaving me without it for over a month, to then get approved after excess paperwork was submitted by my physician. Despite being on this lifelong medication for over eight years, I still need a prior auth completed yearly which generally results in a period of time without the medication.

– Kellie M., Florida

One day my doctor tried [to obtain prior authorization] and his staff spent 6 hours on the phone for one patient.

– @lt_temple, Arizona
Read More >

If my insurance wants a prior authorization, forget it, it will not happen. One day my doctor tried and his staff spent 6 hours on the phone for one patient. No one has that kind of time. PRIOR AUTHORIZATION MUST BE FIXED!

– @lt_temple, Arizona

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.

– D'anna H., Iowa
Read More >

Yes, just last year I needed knee surgery. The insurance made me go thru 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 thru it all again.

– D'anna H., Iowa

I waited 4 months for a prescription.

– Samantha R., California
Read More >

I waited 4 months for a prescription of budesonide for treatment of microscopic lymphocytic colitis (uncontrollable diarrhea). Twice.

– Samantha R., California
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 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.

Upload requirements
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 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.

Upload requirements