ton) was one of TMA’s priority red-tape reduction bills that became law last ses- sion. The measure created the Advisory Committee for the Standard Request Form for Prior Authorization of Medi- cal Care and Health Care Services to de- sign a uniform prior authorization form for health care services. The form can be used across public and private pay- ers, including large commercial insurers, small local plans, Medicaid managed care, and worker’s compensation plans, among others. TMA officials say the administrative simplification will not only save physi- cians, patients, and insurers time and money but also allow doctors to focus those resources on providing more effi- cient care.
SB 1216 also requires:
• TDI and insurers to make the form available electronically and in paper form;
• TDI to develop the form with input from an appointed advisory commit- tee consisting of an equal number of physicians, health care professionals, and hospital and health benefit plan representatives; and
• The workgroup to develop and deter- mine the process for the acknowledg- ment of the receipt of the form and penalties for plans’ failure to use it.
TMA also won passage of a separate bill, Senate Bill 622 by Sen. Joan Huff- man (R-Houston) and Rep. John Zerwas, MD (R-Richmond), requiring develop- ment of a uniform preauthorization form for prescription drugs. A similar advisory committee for that process also must in- clude physicians, as well as pharmacy representatives, among others. TDI has yet to appoint the workgroup, and officials did not have a timetable. A staff member says the agency is in the process of recruiting representatives from specialty pharmacies, specialty drug distributors, and health benefit plan network providers. n
L AW FIRM PC
Amy Lynn Sorrel is associate editor of Texas Medicine. You can reach her by telephone at (800) 880-1300, ext. 1392, or (512) 370-1392; by fax at (512) 370-1629; or by email at
amy.sorrel@
texmed.org.
LeichterTxMedAdV3-3-2013-O.indd 1 42 TEXAS MEDICINE July 2014
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