I had a few incidents this year where my son was hospitalized …Took his prescriptions over to the pharmacy after each release. The pharmacy calls me later and tells me the insurance needs to get this authorized . . . The pharmacy was not able to get a hold of the doctor that afternoon. I asked the pharmacist what can we do, he needs the medication and cannot skip it. They look up the cost and it was over $1,400 dollars for a 15 day supply. I didn't have the funds for that. Luckily, there was a refill on a lower dose of that medication on file that had been approved before so all I had to give him was double that dose. When they finally were able to get a hold of the doctor he called the insurance company. If there had not been a refill on file for the lower dose we would have had a big problem on our hands. I would have had to take him back to the hospital.

– Mj O., New York
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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.

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