Senator Mike Bernskoetter

6th Senatorial District

For Immediate Release: 

Dec. 12, 2025

Capitol Building, Room 416

Jefferson City, MO 65101

Contact Kenny Ross: 

 573-751-2076

Reforming Prior Authorization

The start of the legislative session is just around the corner. Beginning in December, the Missouri Senate allows senators to ‘pre-file’ some of their legislation ahead of the first day of session in January. With that in mind, I have been busy preparing several pieces of legislation these past few months. One I would like to talk to you about is Senate Bill 841. This large health care bill is very similar to a bill I worked on last year before running out of time.

There is one key provision in this bill that I believe will improve patient care in Missouri. It deals with prior authorization. Under current practices, prior authorization requires doctors and hospitals to go through insurance companies before prescribing further health care. This bill would remove the requirement for prior authorization on many services. 

This reform is important for several reasons: it eliminates sometimes dangerous delays of care, it puts your care squarely in the hands of your trusted doctor and, finally, it relieves doctors of one more burden so they can focus on you rather than on paperwork.

Currently, prior authorization policies can cause delays of days or even weeks while waiting for approval before needed tests and treatments can be undertaken. When you are suffering in pain or are in a health care crisis, the last thing you want is a delay in care. Faster access brings about better outcomes.

This change to prior authorization will also restore primacy to the most important relationship in health care, that of the doctor and patient. Your doctor is the person you have chosen to trust with your physical wellbeing. They are the people who most intimately know the nuances of your body and medical history. Your doctor is the person in the best position to help you make decisions on further treatments and tests. Reforming prior authorization will enhance this relationship between doctor and patient and ensure it remains central in a patient’s health care.

Finally, prior authorization is a paperwork and administrative burden that distracts doctors from what they are best at – being in the room directly interacting and treating patients. I have never heard anyone say they wish they spent less time with their doctor when they needed care. Anything that can help reduce the administrative burden on doctors will lead to more time they can spend with their patients.

Often efforts to reform health care tend to focus on the perpetual disagreements between insurance providers, hospitals and doctors. This can lead to the most important group in health care, the patients, being forgotten. Reforming prior authorization is one of the small ways we can empower patients and help people when they are trying to take care of themselves.

Please feel free to contact my office at 573-751-2076. For information about my committee assignments or sponsored legislation, please visit my official Missouri Senate website at senate.mo.gov/Bernskoetter.