(Reuters) -Humana said on Tuesday it would eliminate about one-third of prior authorizations for outpatient services by January 1, 2026.
Health insurers have been taking additional steps to simplify the requirements needed for prior approval on medicines and medical services.
Humana will remove the authorization requirement for diagnostic services across colonoscopies and transthoracic echocardiograms and select CT scans and MRIs.
“Today’s healthcare system is too complex, frustrating, and difficult to navigate, and we must do better,” said Humana CEO Jim Rechtin.
The killing of the head of UnitedHealth’s insurance unit last year had ignited significant social media backlash from Americans struggling to receive and pay for medical care.
Humana will also provide a decision within one business day on at least 95% of all complete electronic prior authorization requests, it said.
Currently, the company provides a decision within one business day on more than 85% of outpatient procedures, in which patients do not require an overnight stay in the hospital.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)
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