Title Information
Title
Understanding Prior Authorization: Current Landscape, Practices, and Challenges
Type of Resource (primo)
technical_reports
Abstract
Prior authorization is a process used by private health insurance plans to determine whether a specific medical service, procedure, or medication will be covered before a patient receives it. This mechanism may be applied to more complex, higher-cost, or higher-risk interventions, particularly when less expensive or less intensive alternatives may be available. The purpose of prior authorization is to ensure that care is medically necessary, evidence-based, and cost-effective. Growing concerns about prior authorization have garnered the attention of policymakers in recent years. Critics note that prior authorization can delay or deny needed care, increase administrative costs, and drive clinician burnout. This issue brief provides an overview of the use of prior authorization and its impact on the health care system. We then provide an overview of recent federal and state policy actions related to prior authorization.
Name
Name Part
Corrie Mook
Role
Role Term (marcrelator) (authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators", valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut")
Author
Name
Name Part
Jeffrey Marr
Role
Role Term (marcrelator) (authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators", valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut")
Author
Name
Name Part
Hayden Rooke-Ley
Role
Role Term (marcrelator) (authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators", valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut")
Author
Name
Name Part
Jared Perkins
Role
Role Term (marcrelator) (authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators", valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut")
Author
Name
Name Part
Lindsey Murtagh
Role
Role Term (marcrelator) (authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators", valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut")
Author
Name
Name Part
Nathan Hostert
Role
Role Term (marcrelator) (authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators", valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut")
Author
Name
Name Part
Ayesha Rahim
Role
Role Term (marcrelator) (authorityURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators", valueURI="http://id.loc.gov/vocabulary/relators/aut")
Author
Origin Information
Date Created
2026
Subject (Local)
Topic
Prior Authorization
Genre
Policy Brief
Access Condition: use and reproduction
All rights reserved
Access Condition: rights statement (href="http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/")
In Copyright
Access Condition: restriction on access
All Rights Reserved
Identifier: DOI
10.26300/psqz-1b42