Denver, Colorado – The House Health and Human Services Committee today passed legislation to streamline access to health care. HB24-1149, sponsored by Rep. Shannon Byrd, would amend prior authorization requirements for certain procedures and prescription drugs to help Coloradans get the care they need.
“We need to remove unnecessary barriers to access to health care, and this legislation eases prior authorization requirements so Coloradans can get the care they need faster.” said Rep. Shannon Byrd, a Westminster Democrat.. “We know that prior authorization requirements can cause delays in treatment, and this bill would change some requirements to alert prescribers in advance about the drugs a patient prefers. The partisan legislation would also increase transparency for health insurance companies, allowing patients to better understand what a particular health insurance company will and will not cover.”
HB24-1149, also sponsored by Rep. Lisa Frizell, R-Castle Rock, passed on a 10-2 vote. This would improve Colorado's prior authorization requirements and streamline medical services, procedures and prescription drugs for patients. Due to health insurance company requirements regarding prior authorization, 94% of doctors reported Prior authorization will delay treatment.This also leads to an overall increase in Waiver of treatment by the patient. This bill would improve access to treatment by eliminating repeat prior authorizations for some patients, extending prior authorization for up to one year or treatment period, and protecting patients from denial of approved treatment. will help you.
To increase consumer transparency, the bill also requires carriers, commercial utilization review agencies, and pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) to:
-
Publish information online about current prior authorization requirements, including data on application decisions, exemptions, approvals, denials and prescription drug prescriptions
-
Annually review and eliminate prior approval requirements for commonly approved services and medicines
-
Adopt a standard template to help patients understand the benefits
Additionally, the bill would streamline care by including specific prior authorization criteria and alerting prescribers to what priority drugs are covered. The goal of HB24-1149 is to reduce barriers to accessing health care, particularly by reducing prior authorization requirements for patients seeking already prescribed drugs and treatments.
