By State Sen. Daryl Schmitt (R-Jasper)
When Hoosiers are making important decisions about their medical needs, one of the most important influences should be a licensed medical practitioner — not an employee within a health insurance company.
Unfortunately, in recent years too many decisions about a patient's health care needs are being made by their insurance company through a process known as prior authorization, which health insurance companies use to determine if their plan will cover medical procedures or medication.
While prior authorization was intended to prevent waste, fraud and abuse in health care, it has been misused by insurance companies in recent years to not cover medical claims.
This year, however, I was proud to co-author Senate Enrolled Act 480, which requires medical decisions to be made by a licensed medical practitioner.
The legislation also prevents prior authorization from being used as an excuse to deny reasonable insurance claims, speeds up timelines for prior authorization determination and appeals, and requires health plans to be more transparent about their prior authorization procedures.
Senate Enrolled Act 480 received widespread bipartisan support in the Indiana General Assembly this year and was ceremonially signed into law by the governor on June 18.
As always, constituents can reach out to me with any questions or concerns by email at s48@iga.in.gov or by phone at 1-800-382-9467.
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State Sen. Daryl Schmitt (R-Jasper) represents Senate District 48,
which includes Crawford, Dubois, Gibson, Perry, Pike and Spencer counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
