Overview
Health insurance providers are committed to quality care for every patient. To improve patients’ experience with their coverage and care, health plans work with doctors, nurses, and patients to make care more efficient, effective, and affordable. Prior authorization – a process for health care providers to get approval from a patient’s health plan before care is delivered to qualify for coverage – helps health insurance providers deliver on that promise.
In 2018, stakeholders representing providers and insurers developed a Consensus Statement recommending opportunities to improve the prior authorization process. Increasing the adoption of electronic prior authorization was one of the major opportunities identified for improving prior authorization. In January 2020, building on this multi-stakeholder Consensus Statement, America’s Health Insurance Plans (AHIP), working with two technology partners1 and several member insurance providers, launched the Fast Prior Authorization Technology Highway (Fast PATH) initiative to better understand the impact of electronic prior authorization on improving the prior authorization process.