March 6, 2023
The Alliance submitted comments to CMS proposed rule on
Advancing Interoperability and Improving Prior Authorization (PA) Processes for Medicare Advantage Organizations, Medicaid Managed Care Plans, State Medicaid Agencies. While the Alliance is supportive of the Agency’s proposal to streamline PA process, we expressed concern about the lack of provisions addressing payer accountability. "Payers need to be held accountable or the changes proposed will have little effect," the Alliance wrote. For example, in the proposal, CMS states that if a provider does not hear back from the payer in the timeframe proposed then the provider "should contact the payer." This certainly does not streamline the burden on providers, the Alliance noted, and does not hold payers accountable for their lack of response. The Alliance encouraged CMS to include payer accountability provisions as this proposal moves towards finalization.
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