Vermont's health care providers want health insurance reform
Burlington Free Press
Vermont's health care providers have taken aim at health insurance companies, targeting excessive bureaucracy, and the practice of requiring prior authorization for needed procedures and drugs, as compromising patient care and increasing costs, even though prior authorization is intended to lower costs by preventing unnecessary or misguided care.
This week, the University of Vermont Health Care Network distributed a commentary on health insurance practices by Kelly Lange, president of managed care contracting. In addition, the Vermont Association of Hospitals and Health Systems sent out a press release calling for the passage in the Vermont Senate of a House bill that requires health insurance companies to "reduce administrative delays and streamline insurance requirements." Lange called for passage of the bill as well.
What does the House bill that passed unanimously require health insurers to do?
The bill, H.766, passed the House unanimously on March 13 and was introduced into the Senate on March 15, where it was assigned to the Committee on Health and Welfare. The two major insurance companies in Vermont are Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Vermont and MVP Health Care.