We recently interviewed Stacey Worthy of the Alliance for the Adoption of Innovations in Medicine about steps patients can take if insurance denies or delays access to the prescriptions their physicians prescribe (Watch the interview here: patientpower.info/video/how... . Ms. Worthy is writing about insurance obstacles in a prestigious law publication, and we are looking for patients who can tell their story to the media and on social media to help call attention to the paper and support efforts to stop discriminatory insurance practices, including:
> Step Therapy, requiring you to "fail" on an older medicine before they'll pay for what the doctor prescribed
> Burdensome and time consuming prior authorizations
> Adverse tiering - placing essential cancer medications on a level requiring you to pay large amounts out of your own pocket
> Reimbursing less for medications taken by mouth
> Giving doctors financial incentives for prescribing certain treatments even if the doctor doesn't think they're the best
Many of these practices violate state and federal laws and regulations. The Aimed Alliance says if current laws were properly enforced you could have better access to quality and timely healthcare.
HELP US HELP YOU AND YOUR FELLOW PATIENTS!
If you've experienced any of these as a patient, or as a caregiver on behalf of a patient, and would like to help, please email us at comments@patientpower.info with your name and contact information and a brief summary of your experience and we'll do the rest.
