Urge your Pennsylvania state legislator to ensure all co-pays count and support new bills aimed at reforming the harmful insurance practices of prior authorization and step therapy! Read on to learn more about the bills being introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
Urge Your Pennsylvania State Representative and State Senator to Support HB/SB 225
New bills aimed at reforming the harmful insurance practices of prior authorization and step therapy are being introduced in the Pennsylvania General Assembly.
These practices undermine the patient-provider relationship by allowing an insurer to deny a prescribed medication or treatment and instead require the patient to “fail first” with a different option (one that is likely cheaper to the insurer) before approving the original recommendation. As a result, patients may have to wait long hours, days or even weeks before learning if their treatment is approved — and these waits can be dangerous, especially for patients with bleeding disorders.
HB 225 and SB 225 push for a quicker, more efficient prior authorization system, including a mandated electronic process. It will also provide a clearer route to obtain exemptions from the step therapy process.
The COVID-19 pandemic makes it more obvious than ever that swift and accessible treatment is vital to improve outcomes and save lives — so much so, that most insurers lifted prior authorization for coronavirus treatments. We must, at minimum, make the process easier to navigate for other treatments.
We’re asking you to help us in the effort to improve patients’ lives across Pennsylvania by filling out the form on this page and asking lawmakers to prioritize this legislation.
Urge Your Pennsylvania State Legislator to Ensure All Co-Pays Count!
Urge your state Representative to cosponsor co-pay accumulator reform legislation, which will help Pennsylvanians afford the treatments they need by ensuring all co-pay assistance counts towards out-of-pocket requirements
In response to advocacy by the Pennsylvania All Co-Pays Count Coalition, Representatives Barb Gleim and Mark Longietti announced in a recent memoranda that they plan to introduce legislation – a House companion to Senate Bill 196 – to address co-pay accumulator programs.
Many individuals in the bleeding disorders community rely on co-pay assistance from drug manufacturers and charities to maintain access to their high-cost treatments. This financial assistance is often a lifeline to those with serious, chronic conditions.
However, insurance companies are increasingly utilizing co-pay accumulator programs, which prevent co-pay assistance from being counted toward an individual’s deductible or out-of-pocket maximum. Co-pay accumulators hinder the accessibility and affordability of treatments for those in the bleeding disorders community, as well as for others with chronic conditions.
Please take a moment to ask your state Representative to cosponsor this vital piece of legislation to protect patients in Pennsylvania by ensuring all co-pay assistance counts.
