By Amina Niasse
NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) – Less burdensome prior authorization procedures in which clinicians must have procedures and medicines preapproved by health plans and digital solutions for managing care have boosted trust in insurers, Aetna President Steve Nelson said on Wednesday.
Overall trust in insurers by providers has risen 13% this year, up from a rating of 5.4 during this year’s first quarter to a score of 6.1, survey data from intelligence firm Morning Consult showed.
Scores are assessed on a scale of 1 through 10.
Health insurers have improved trust levels with providers by simplifying prior authorizations, or approvals needed before patients receive care, and leveraging technology to speed up approvals and reduce administrative friction, Nelson said.
The share of providers who believe insurers consistently deliver on their promises increased 16% in the second quarter to 52%.
CVS Health sponsored the Aetna Provider Survey, which included 723 people ranging from clinicians to health technology executives and is conducted on a quarterly basis by the independent firm Morning Consult.
Prior authorization requests were the leading contributor to administrative burden for respondents, with 60% of providers naming the approvals as a key driver of administrative burden. Forty-two percent and 41% of providers said repeatedly entering patient data and submitting billing paperwork, respectively, were driving red tape.
Major U.S. health insurers including rivals UnitedHealthcare and Cigna have made voluntary commitments to streamline and reduce prior authorization requirements.
Nelson said CVS over the last 18 months reduced the number of prior authorizations that providers and patients experience, by making the request process the same for most conditions and bundling authorizations for conditions like cancer. More patients have one prior authorization for all their medications, he said.
CVS on Wednesday announced it plans to launch an AI assistant to call providers directly and book appointments on behalf of members.
“There’s a lot of talk about clinicians struggling with the amount of administrative burden that’s placed on them, and we think this tool is not only better for patients, but takes some uncertainty out of the way,” said Aetna’s Nelson.
(Reporting by Amina Niasse; Editing by Stephen Coates)
