Still Fighting for Coverage: The Unfinished Battle Over Medical Preauthorization

Despite insurance pledges to simplify preauthorization, patients still face frequent denials and costly delays for necessary care. The piece follows Sheldon Ekirch and other patients who endured years of fights over IVIG and other treatments, including a successful reversal of a denial that required huge personal expenses, while COBRA transitions loom. Insurers tout changes like bundling and removing some approvals, but clinicians, patients, and experts question whether reforms will meaningfully improve access, a concern echoed by a 39% share of chronic-patient respondents in a KFF poll.