The North Carolina Medical Society’s highest advocacy priority is to REFORM PRIOR AUTHORIZATION NOW.
Your health isn’t something to play with. When insurance companies delay or deny treatment, they’re messing with people’s lives.
Why is reform needed?
Let these healthcare professionals’ stories demonstrate why.
Recently, some NCMS members and their staff shared how prior authorization has negatively impacted their practices and their patients. Their conclusions?
Prior authorization is…
- Causing dangerous and deliberate delays in treatment;
- Interfering with essential healthcare;
- Costly, complicated, and often unnecessary.
Get the full story: Click here to download
You can take action!
Click here to contact your legislator today and let them know the time is NOW to pass The Care First Act and reform Prior Authorization.
Get Involved!
How can you help prior auth reform efforts?
Click here to find our Stakeholder Toolkit for you and your practice to join the fight to reform prior authorization!
Attend the NCMS White Coat Day and Legislative Reception on April 30 – Come to Raleigh, learn about the issues and get the talking points you need to advocate for reform with your legislator. Learn more and register here…
Make sure your NCMS membership is up-to-date by renewing. Not a member? Join today! The stronger our membership, the stronger our voice.
Legislative Efforts
2025-2026 Legislative Session:
With the wellbeing of North Carolinians and their physicians at the top of its list of priorities, the North Carolina Medical Society (NCMS) supports House Bill 434, The CARE FIRST Act, which would reform the process of patients seeking prior authorization from their health insurance provider. NCMS firmly believes that physicians should be the ones to make medical decisions for their patients and health insurance companies should take responsibility for the outcome of denied medically necessary care.
This CARE FIRST Act passed the house in a 109-1 vote on April 29, 2025. NCMS thanks the House of Representatives for their support of this essential legislation, especially the bill’s primary sponsors. The CARE FIRST Act now heads to the Senate for consideration and is likely to be conferenced between the two chambers.
2023-2024 Legislative Session:
In April of 2023, HB 649, an Act to Ensure Timely and Clinically Sound Utilization Reviews and that Medical Decisions are Made by Health Care Providers, passed the House of Representatives unanimously. After hearing increased frustration with patient care delays and increased administrative burden associated with many of the largest commercial payors in the state, the NCMS Payor Relations Task Force (Task Force) was formed to hear input from members in a wide range of practice areas. Prior authorization quickly rose as one of the top concerns and became a top priority for NCMS. While the legislation passed the House, the bill stalled in the Senate and did not move further in the legislative process.
Get the Facts!
Click on the images below to download each informational sheet.
