Prior authorization, a longtime bane of providers, is on track to become less burdensome thanks to a new Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) proposed rule. The good news is the rule includes Medicare Advantage, which was left out of a previous version. But results, already delayed once, may still come slowly.

On December 6th, CMS announced a proposed rule, “Advancing Interoperability and Improving Prior Authorization Processes for Medicare Advantage Organizations,” which replaces the previous CMS rule from 2020. Some key aspects of the rule include: increased transparency into prior authorization decisions; quicker turnaround times for said decisions; and automating certain processes that remain heavily manual to this day. 

Cohere Health’s Alina M. Czekai, Vice President of Strategic Partnerships & former Senior Advisor to CMS Administrator Seema Verma, who worked on the original rule, sat down with Roy Edroso, Editor, Part B News, to discuss how this new initiative would improve transparency within the prior authorization process, reduce physician burden, and result in faster access to patient care.

Published On: December 19th, 2022Categories: Compliance 201, News

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About the Author: Cohere Health

Cohere Health is a clinical intelligence company that provides intelligent prior authorization as a springboard to better quality outcomes by aligning physicians and health plans on evidence-based care paths for the patient's entire care journey. Currently processing nine million intelligent prior authorization requests annually, Cohere positively impacts more than 15 million health plan members and 492,000 healthcare providers nationwide. The company is a Top 5 LinkedIn™ Startup, winner of the TripleTree iAward, three-time recipient of KLAS Research's Points of Light, and has been named to Fierce Healthcare's Fierce 15 and CB Insights' Digital Health 150 lists. Cohere's investors include Deerfield Management, Define Ventures, Flare Capital Partners, Longitude Capital, and Polaris Partners.