Opinion: Other states should follow New Jersey’s lead on prior authorization reform
Imagine this scene: You are a cancer patient already navigating fear and uncertainty around your treatment, when you inexplicably cannot access the care recommended by your cancer doctor. This turns out to be because of a perverse hurdle imposed by your insurance company — called a prior authorization — that ends in a denial of care.
You would not be alone: More than 1 in 5 (22%) cancer patients report not getting care recommended by their doctor because of these delays or denials. If you’re lucky enough to live in one of just two states — Washington and, as of this month, New Jersey — you are more protected from these delays. If you live elsewhere, you might not be. More states, and the federal government, need to follow Washington’s and New Jersey’s lead, because both patients and clinicians are actively harmed by insurance companies using prior authorization to put up barriers to needed care.
