UHC, Aetna, Cigna report progress on prior authorization standardization

UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association report meeting 2025 goals to standardize electronic prior authorization for certain medical services and drugs. The initiative, part of an industry-wide commitment brokered with the AMA, focused on adopting HL7's Da Vinci standards for attachments and documentation requirements. While payers claim an 11% reduction in PA volume, practice-level impact varies. This reflects continued payer and regulatory pressure to streamline PA but does not yet mandate specific workflow changes for providers. The operational reality remains that PA rules and requirements are still payer-specific.