We need to start routinely tracking the ways in which insurance companies’ red tape affects patient care

It takes a village to care for a patient. That village encompasses many partners, including, in the United States at least, the patient’s health insurer. Increasingly, however, I’m aware of the many ways that such companies obstruct my capacity as a physician to provide the best and most timely care possible. After all, to the insurance company our care is considered a minus sign in the accounts log, a financial cost stacked up against the drive to increase profits.I’m routinely confronted by obstacles put in place by insurance companies that harm the health of patients. These range from denials of care, where insurance companies refuse to cover the cost of a treatment; the need for waiting periods between patients beginning an insurance policy and being eligible for a claim; and prior authorizations, which force healthcare providers to obtain approval from insurance companies before carrying out a procedure or prescribing a…
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