Democrats introduce bill to repeal Medicare prior authorization pilot

Dive Brief:

House Democrats introduced a bill on Friday to repeal a CMS innovation center payment model that will add artificial intelligence-backed prior authorization for some services in Medicare.

The Wasteful and Inappropriate Service Reduction, or WISeR, model will implement prior authorization in six states starting in January. The CMS last week announced health technology companies that will administer the model.

The six Democrat representatives behind the legislation say WISeR will add red tape and limit access to care for Medicare seniors. “It is not an exaggeration to say that the requirement of prior authorization for traditional Medicare services will kill seniors,” said Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis. “Not only that, but the use of AI in determining whether or not treatment i