UnitedHealthcare Cuts Prior Authorization Requirements by 30%
Continues to build on recently announced initiatives to reduce requirements for rural care providers and to standardize submission requirements among insurers
UnitedHealthcare is eliminating authorization requirements for 30% of healthcare services that previously required insurer approval.
Insurers have eliminated 11% of prior authorizations under reform pledge
Last summer, the insurance industry broadly agreed to reform a major healthcare pain point: prior authorization.
Now, two of the industry’s leading organizations are offering a look at progress toward those goals. AHIP and the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association released a report on Tuesday that found leading health plans reduced prior authorizations for an array of services by 11% since the pledge was made.
373 top hospitals for patient experience: Healthgrades
Healthgrades recognized 373 hospitals with its 2026 Outstanding Patient Experience Award.
The organization evaluated 3,020 hospitals that submitted at least 100 patient experience surveys to CMS’ Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems between January and December 2024. Hospitals in the bottom 20% of overall clinical quality were excluded from consideration.
GLP-1s driving healthcare cost hikes, employers say
Nearly 8 in 10 reported the expensive weight loss medications are increasing their company’s healthcare costs, according to a survey by the Business Group on Health
Originally developed for Type 2 diabetes, GLP-1s have shown remarkable efficacy at treating obesity, which affects a large swath of Americans. About 1 in 8 adults say they’re currently taking a GLP-1 for weight loss or to manage a chronic condition, according to a survey conducted last year by health policy researcher KFF.
MEDICARE
Medicare Advantage: What agents in the field are seeing
Two million. That’s how many older Americans were displaced from Medicare Advantage plans in 2025, according to agents fielding the calls. Hospital systems pulled out of networks. Carriers dropped unprofitable plans during the annual enrollment period. And the agents who build their practices around MA found themselves scrambling to reposition clients who suddenly had nowhere to go.
