Overview

• Over 50 plans, including UnitedHealthcare, Aetna, Cigna, Humana and dozens of Blue Cross Blue Shield affiliates, agreed to streamline and reduce prior authorization for commercial, Medicare Advantage and Medicaid managed care members.
• Each insurer will demonstrate reductions in services subject to prior authorization by January 1, 2026, and adopt a common electronic submission standard for prior authorization requests by January 1, 2027.
• Plans have pledged that, with complete clinical documentation, at least 80 percent of electronic prior authorization requests will be answered in real time by 2027.
• To preserve continuity of care, new insurers will honor existing prior authorizations for benefit-equivalent in-network services during a 90-day transition when patients switch plans mid-treatment.
• HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and CMS Administrator Dr. Mehmet Oz have endorsed the voluntary commitments and will monitor progress with potential regulatory action if needed.