Budd-Sponsored Bill to Improve Senior Healthcare Passes House

Press Release

H.R. 3173, the Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act, has passed the House. Rep. Ted Budd co-sponsored this bipartisan bill last year.

The legislation would speed up the prior authorization process for Medicare Advantage plans, which would fast-track care for common medical procedures.

Rep. Budd said in a statement:

"It is inexcusable that red tape regulations get in the way of healthcare for our seniors. I was glad to help get this common sense bill across the finish line in the House, and I will continue to work to see that it is passed into law. We should do everything we can to speed up the approval process for Medicare Advantage so that patients receive the care they need, when they need it."

Background:

The bill would create a system of electronic prior-authorization and would require Medicare Advantage plans to participate.

The goal of this legislation is to ease the prior-authorization burden on services that are routinely approved and are not likely to be overutilized.

This bill requires real time decisions for a list of services that the Department of Health and Human Services designates as routinely approved.

Plans would be required to provide reports on prior authorization approval rates for common prior authorization requests.

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