Alaska Enacts Senate Bill 133 to Streamline Health Insurance Authorization Process

Alaska has enacted Senate Bill 133, introducing new regulatory requirements for health insurance authorization processes. Effective January 1, 2027, the law mandates insurers and healthcare providers to adhere to stricter timelines when approving care requests, with most decisions required within 72 hours. If a request is not answered within this timeframe, it is automatically deemed approved, streamlining access to necessary treatments. The legislation also demands greater transparency from insurers, compelling them to provide detailed explanations for authorization decisions and specifying deadlines to request additional information from providers.

The bill offers extended approval durations for patients with chronic conditions and explicitly prohibits denial of coverage for approved medications prescribed to patients with Stage 4 advanced metastatic cancer. Additionally, it includes provisions aimed at reinforcing the protection of private health information. The Alaska Division of Insurance is tasked with annually reporting on the timeliness of insurance authorization decisions, enhancing oversight and accountability within the market.

This regulatory development responds to longstanding industry concerns regarding delays and opacity in the prior authorization process, which can hinder timely patient care and increase provider administrative burdens. By instituting clear benchmarks and requiring communication transparency, the law aligns insurer practices with emerging national trends addressing prior authorization inefficiencies.

Stakeholder organizations such as the Alaska Hospital and Healthcare Association supported the legislation, highlighting its anticipated benefits of faster and clearer insurance decisions for patients. This bill represents a significant state-level effort to improve payer/provider collaboration and regulatory compliance to streamline patient access to care in Alaska's health insurance market.