Hinds Today

U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) has cosponsored legislation aimed at reducing health care wait times for Medicare beneficiaries by streamlining the prior authorization process under Medicare Advantage (MA). The bipartisan Improving Seniors' Timely Access to Care Act (S.4532) seeks to prioritize patients over paperwork, allowing faster access to medical services.

"Streamlining the paperwork burden, which this bill aims to do, would benefit both seniors with Medicare Advantage coverage who need timely access to care and the health care providers who are overwhelmed by paperwork demands. The current system is unfair to both and should be improved, posthaste," Hyde-Smith stated.

The current MA prior authorization process requires providers to obtain pre-approval for medical services from health plans, often leading to communication issues between clinicians and insurance companies and longer patient wait times. U.S. Senator Roger Marshall, M.D. (R-Kan.) introduced S.4532, which proposes measures that would help health care professionals serve patients more efficiently while reducing administrative burdens.

A 2022 report by the U.S. Surgeon General highlighted that high administrative burdens have contributed significantly to increased burnout among health care professionals in Mississippi and nationwide following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The bill has garnered support from nearly 400 national, regional, state, and district organizations including the Mississippi State Medical Association, Mississippi Oncology Society, and Mississippi Academy of Eye Physicians and Surgeons.

Hyde-Smith joins 44 original cosponsors of the bill from both parties including Senators Kyrsten Sinema (I-Ariz.), John Thune (R-S.D.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-La.), Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), Tom Carper (D-Del.), John Cornyn (R-Texas), Bob Casey (D-Pa.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), J.D. Vance (R-Ohio), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Ted Budd (R-N.C.), Tim Kaine (D-Va.), Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Jeanne Shaheen (D-N.H.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Kevin Cramer(R-N.D), Jacky Rosen(D-Nev), Mike Braun(R-Ind), Martin Heinrich(D-N.M), Eric Schmitt(R-Mo), John Hickenlooper(D-Colo), Marco Rubio(R-Fla), Gary Peters(D-Mich), Mike Rounds(R-S.D), Peter Welch(D-Vt), John Hoeven(R-N.D), Alex Padilla(D-Calif ), Richard Blumenthal(D-Conn ), Raphael Warnock(D-Ga ), Brian Schatz(D-Hawaii ), Jeff Merkley(D-Ore ), John Fetterman(D-Pa ) , Elizabeth Warren( D -Mass ). Companion legislation has also been introduced in the U.S House of Representatives.