Bipartisan Bill Introduced to Speed Up Prior Authorization in Medicare Advantage

A bipartisan group of lawmakers has introduced the "Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act," new legislation aimed at streamlining prior authorization within Medicare Advantage plans. The bill would require MA plans to establish a real-time electronic PA process for routinely approved services, publish their PA approval rates and denial reasons publicly, and reduce the standard review timeframe for non-urgent requests. The legislation also seeks to exempt providers with high historical approval rates from certain PA requirements. The bill has been referred to committee; track its progress as it could establish the first federal PA performance standards for MA plans if passed. For now, this is a legislative marker signaling continued pressure on payer PA practices.