Nearly 90 prior authorization reform bills have been introduced in 30 state legislatures this year, according to the American Medical Association.
The AMA said in a May 10 post on its website that many of the bills draw on the group's model legislation.
Those proposed reforms include establishing quick response times (24 hours for urgent care, 48 hours for nonurgent care) and reducing volume through the use of prior authorization exemptions or gold-carding programs. Other proposed reforms include prohibiting retroactive denials if care is preauthorized and making authorization valid for at least one year, regardless of dose changes.
"These efforts join major reforms at the federal level being proposed and finalized," AMA President Jack Resneck Jr., MD, said in the post. "Policymakers and other stakeholders seem to be realizing what patients and physicians have known for a long time — prior authorization harms patients, undercuts clinical decision making and wastes valuable health care resources."