By State Sen. Mark Messmer (R-Jasper)
In recent years, the Indiana General Assembly has worked to reduce health care costs and expand health care access in Indiana.
This year, the Senate Republicans are working on legislation that would make the prior authorization system work better for Hoosiers.
Prior authorization is a practice by insurance companies to require a preemptive review of a service to determine if the insurance plan will cover a medical service for a patient.
Senate Bill 3, which I have co-authored, would place limitations on how health insurance providers use prior authorization under certain circumstances when making decisions on medical coverage.
Reforming this system would help speed up medical decision making so a patient's need to receive care is not adversely affected by administrative burdens.
Senate Bill 237, which I have authored, would also establish a standard to determine whether a health care service is medically necessary and require medical review practices of health plans to follow these standards of medical necessity.
By reforming the prior authorization system in Indiana, legislators hope to expand access to health care services in Indiana and allow Hoosiers to make important health-related decisions faster.
Senate Bill 3 unanimously passed the Senate Committee on Health and Provider Services on Wednesday, and now moves to the full Senate for further consideration. Senate Bill 237 has also been assigned to the health and provider services committee.
Legislative calendars, agendas, vote tallies and proposed legislation can be found on iga.in.gov.
As always, feel free to contact my office directly with your questions and concerns by email at Senator.Messmer@iga.in.gov or by phone at 800-382-9467.
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State Sen. Mark Messmer (R-Jasper) represents Senate District 48, which
includes Crawford, Dubois, Gibson, Perry, Pike and Spencer counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
