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Prior authorization review, which is embedded in the U.S. healthcare system, is blamed both for driving up costs and frustrating patients and providers.
“Other than out-of-pocket costs, I would wager that prior authorization review is the one thing consumers find most burdensome in our current health system,” says Drew Altman, president and CEO of KFF. “A proposal to eliminate prior authorization altogether could be the single most tangible and popular ‘health reform’ idea a candidate could propose, Republ
i
can or Democrat.” All too often, prior authorization becomes a duel between the competing interests of insurers and providers, with patien
t
s caught in