Kelly-led 'Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act' passes Ways & Means Committee, advances to full House consideration

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the House Ways and Means Committee passed the "Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act," which is led by U.S. Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA), Suzan DelBene (D-WA), Larry Bucshon (R-IN), and Ami Bera (D-CA). The bill is part the Health Care Price Transparency Act of 2023, a sweeping package of health care legislation led by the Ways & Means Committee on Wednesday. The bill now advances to the full House of Representatives for consideration.

Following passage, Reps. Kelly, DelBene, Bucshon, and Bera released this joint statement.

"The ‘Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act’ continues to gain momentum in the 118th Congress following unanimous passage in the U.S. House in the 117th Congress. This passage, along with the endorsements of more than 500 organizations, signals that modernizing and streamlining the prior authorization process for the nearly 32 million Americans who are currently enrolled in Medicare Advantage is long overdue," the Members said. "This would allow our nation’s seniors to receive the care they are entitled to faster. As we continue to work with federal agencies on implementing complementary efforts, we appreciate the Committee’s commitment to advancing our legislation. We look forward to continuing to work in a bipartisan manner with our House and Senate colleagues to advance these commonsense reforms."

You can watch Rep. Kelly's statement during today's committee markup here.

BACKGROUND

The "Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act" would make it easier for seniors to get the care they need and improve health outcomes. The bill would modernize the antiquated prior authorization process in Medicare Advantage, which often still requires faxing documents to insurance companies.

The bill would:

• Establish an electronic prior authorization process.
• Require the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) to establish a process for “real-time decisions” for items and services that are routinely approved.
• Improve transparency by requiring Medicare Advantage plans to report to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services on the extent of their use of prior authorization and the rate of approvals or denials.
• Encourage plans to adopt prior authorization programs that adhere to evidence-based medical guidelines in consultation with physicians.

In 2022, HHS released a report illustrating the abuse of prior authorization in Medicare Advantage. It mirrored a similar report from 2019.

Additionally, please find letters of support from the Regulatory Relief Coalition and the American Medical Association.