Hawaii HB 1741 – SUPPORT Prior Authorization Legislation – Send your comments before 2/14/12
February 10, 2012 at 3:03pm
HAWAII
HB 1741 – SUPPORT Prior Authorization Legislation – Send your comments to http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/emailtestimony Thanks so much for your help with this critical patient access issue.
Sample Letter:
Representative Robert Herkes
Hawaii State Capitol
Honolulu, HI 96813
RE: HB 1741 – SUPPORT
Dear Representative Herkes,
I support HB 1741, which streamlines and simplifies the Prior Authorization (PA) process for patients. Under the guise of cost containment, Hawaii health insurers have implemented procedures and protocols such as prior authorization that threaten the doctor-patient relationship and interfere with effective patient care by denying or delaying access to treatment.
Prior- and pre-authorization policies – when an insurer requires a doctor to obtain authorization from the insurance carrier before the carrier will agree to cover the cost of medication or treatment – deliver costly bureaucratic hassles that take a physician’s time and attention from patient care. The fact that each health plan has its own distinct prior authorization form only compounds the problem and adds to the time physicians must spend navigating the managed care maze in order to get patients access to the treatments they need.
The PA process is currently highly complex, lacks transparency, and the criteria and processes vary significantly among health plans. Health plans in Hawaii have differing preauthorization, appeal, benefit advisory, and admission notification requirements; and these differing requirements create training and logistical complexity for providers, as their staff tries to keep track of the various requirements and the different methods of communicating the information.
HB 1741 institutes patient protections for PAs that will preserve the provider-patient relationship.
Should you have any questions please contact me at xxx-xxx-xxxx.
Sincerely,
xxxxxx
