In today’s political climate, it sometimes seems there isn’t a lot people can agree on. As elected officials, it’s our responsibility to hear about the concerns and issues facing all of our constituents and advocate on their behalf at the state Capitol. One issue that continues to plague Coloradans from across the state and across the aisle is denied and delayed medical care due to insurance carriers’ prior-authorization requirements. We can all seem to agree medical decisions should be made between a patient and their doctor.

Most Coloradans believe a physician who has examined the patient and has the necessary medical knowledge and training is the most qualified person to determine which procedures and medications will best serve their patient.  However, physicians must often obtain approval from an unknown and anonymous insurance carrier employee before moving forward with treatment.  This prior-authorization process wastes countless essential provider hours on bureaucratic paperwork and often delays necessary medical care for patients, increasing medical costs and decreasing positive patient outcomes.

Unfortunately, almost everyone has a story about delayed or denied access to care, whether it was for themselves or a loved one. We have heard countless stories from Coloradans on this subject, ranging from tedious and time-consuming to traumatic and tragic. We also know prior-authorization delays and denials are not administered equally and create serious inequities in the system, particularly for hardworking Coloradans who don’t have the time or resources to fight carriers. Research shows women, people of color, Coloradans with disabilities, Coloradans experiencing a mental health issue and low-income Coloradans are more likely to be denied care or experience delayed care. That’s why we are coming together to sponsor House Bill 1149. Our bill will streamline and improve Colorado’s prior-authorization system.

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This bipartisan legislation will empower patients and providers to make important medical decisions and reduce the financial costs, patient trauma and wasted valuable provider hours caused by delayed care. Under the current prior-authorization system, 94% of physicians report delays in patient care and 80% state prior-authorization delays resulted in patients abandoning treatment. Even more disturbing, 25% of doctors reported a delay in care due to a prior-authorization issue leading to patient hospitalization, 19% reported a life-threatening event and 9% reported an event leading to disability, permanent damage, or death.

The current prior-authorization system doesn’t just result in delayed and denied access to critical care, it also exacerbates our health care staffing shortage and wastes countless priceless hours of physician time that could be spent working with patients. It’s estimated physicians spend nearly two full business days per week fighting claims denials just to ensure their patients can access needed medications or health care services. As health care facilities continue to face serious staffing shortages, particularly in rural Colorado, these are critical hours that take away from time with patients and contribute to increasing stress and burnout levels.

Our bill will enact several reforms to help improve access to treatment for patients and their families. This includes preventing treatment disruptions by ending the need for patients to be repeatedly authorized for prescription drugs they have already been approved for or for additional treatments that may be required during surgery. It would also ensure continuity of care by extending a prior authorization to last throughout the course of treatment.

The legislation will also create more transparency in the system so patients understand their benefits and likelihood of being approved for treatment by requiring insurance carriers’ formularies are publicly available. Finally, our bill will reward physicians who are consistently providing quality care and referring patients only for medically necessary treatments.

These reforms will reduce barriers to critical health care for Colorado patients and families and reduce the financial and bureaucratic barriers within our health care system. Medical decisions should be made between a patient and their doctor and should be based on solutions that will lead to the best possible patient outcomes – no one wants insurance carriers practicing medicine. We need to enact these bipartisan reforms now because health can’t wait.

Colorado state Rep. Shannon Bird is a Democratic lawmaker representing House District 29 in Westminster. Colorado state Rep. Lisa Frizell is a Republican lawmaker representing House District 45 in Douglas County.