STAT+: HHS adviser hopes prior authorization reform happens in ‘double-digit months,’ not years

WASHINGTON — A top U.S. health official told a room full of doctors on Wednesday that he hopes the Trump administration’s efforts to whittle down the insurance industry’s use of prior authorizations will produce results “in double-digit months” instead of years, calling on his audience to also put pressure on their technology vendors to standardize the process.

“There should be no human working on prior authorization, period,” Chris Klomp, director of the Center for Medicare, said. “We have the technology to effectuate appropriate clinical care based on your judgment, your decisions, very, very quickly, and that’s what we’re driving for.”

Klomp, who now also serves as a senior counselor at the Department of Health and Human Services, overseeing the department’s day-to-day operations, made his comments at the American Medical Association’s national advocacy conference in Washington, D.C.

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