News Briefs: Wyden, Pallone Probe Medicaid Prior Authorization Denials
Prominent Democratic lawmakers have launched an investigation following an HHS Office of Inspector General (OIG) report citing high rates of prior authorization denials by Medicaid managed care organizations. That report, which reviewed 2019 claims data from seven multistate MCOs, found that those insurers denied 12.5% of all prior authorization requests — more than double the denial rate of Medicare Advantage plans that same year. Alarmed by the report, House Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-N.J.) and Senate Finance Committee Chair Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) said they sent letters seeking information about prior authorization practices to CVS Health Corp.’s Aetna, AmeriHealth Caritas, CareSource, Centene Corp., Elevance Health, Inc., Molina Healthcare, Inc., and UnitedHealthcare. Among other questions, the lawmakers want “a description of all algorithms, including machine learning and artificial intelligence algorithms” that the companies use when considering prior authorization requests.
