The Association for Clinical Oncology (ASCO), along with 46 state oncology societies, sent a letter to U.S. House and Senate leadership urging Congress to pass the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 8702/S. 4532), which would streamline prior authorization practices within Medicare Advantage (MA).
A 2022 survey of ASCO members found that nearly all participants reported a patient who has experienced harm because of prior authorization processes, including significant impacts on patient health such as disease progression (80%) and loss of life (36%). The most widely cited harms to patients reported are delays in treatment (96%) and diagnostic imaging (94%); patients being forced onto a second-choice therapy (93%) or denied therapy (87%); and increased patient out-of-pocket costs (88%).
“Prior authorization practices can have a disproportionately negative impact on cancer patients due to their need for timely access to care,” the groups said in the letter. “The bill would enhance transparency around the use of prior authorization to help us further understand how these requirements can be improved to reduce these potentially devastating delays in care for patients.”
Urge your lawmakers to pass the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act now by visiting the ACT Network: https://asco.quorum.us/action_center.
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