Letters

Neurosurgery Joins the Regulatory Relief Coalition to Express Concerns about Prior Authorization

  • Reimbursement and Practice Management
  • The Honorable Jason Smith
    Chairman
    Committee on Ways and Means
    United States House
    1139 Longworth House Office Building
    Washington, DC 20515
  • The Honorable Richard Neal
    Ranking Member
    Committee on Ways and Means
    United States House
    1129 House Office Building
    Washington, DC 20515
  • The Honorable Vern Buchanan
    Chairman
    Subcommittee on Health
    Committee on Ways and Means
    United States House
    1139 Longworth House Office Building
    Washington, DC 20515
  • The Honorable Lloyd Doggett
    Ranking Member
    Subcommittee on Health
    Committee on Ways and Means
    United States House
    1129 House Office Building
    Washington, DC 20515
  • The Honorable David Schweikert
    Chairman
    Subcommittee on Oversight
    Committee on Ways and Means
    United States House
    1139 Longworth House Office Building
    Washington, DC 20515
  • The Honorable Terri Sewell
    Ranking Member
    Subcommittee on Oversight
    Committee on Ways and Means
    United States House
    1129 House Office Building
    Washington, DC 20515

RE: Subcommittee Hearing on Medicare Advantage: Past Lessons, Present Insights, Future Opportunities on July 22, 2025


Dear Chairmen Smith, Buchanan, and Schweikert and Ranking Members Neal, Doggett, and Sewell:

On behalf of the Regulatory Relief Coalition (RRC), a coalition of national physician organizations seeking to reduce regulatory burdens that interfere with patient care, we are pleased that the House Committee on Ways and Means is holding a joint Health and Oversight Subcommittee hearing on July 22, 2025, titled, “Medicare Advantage: Past Lessons, Present Insights, Future Opportunities.” We thank you for your work to investigate the serious and persistent issue of administrative burden in Medicare Advantage (MA) due to the overuse and abuse of utilization management tools like prior authorization.

We greatly appreciate your committee’s stalwart efforts to ensure that MA policies are not a barrier to timely and equitable access to care for the patients our members serve by passing the Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (“Seniors’ Act”) in the 117th and 118th Congresses – bicameral, bipartisan, commonsense legislative reform based on multiple studies of egregious MA behavior. The RRC also applauds the leadership, insight, and tenacity of Ways and Means Committee members, Reps. Mike Kelly (R-PA) and Suzan DelBene (D-WA) for their championship of the Seniors’ Act (H.R. 3514). Already, 145 House members, including 29 Ways and Means members1, and 53 Senators support the legislation in the 119th Congress.

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