During the week of March 14, the Michigan Legislature acted on a bill to make changes to the prior authorization process for commercial insurers and a bill to increase penalties for assaulting healthcare employees and volunteers.
The House Health Policy Committee reported Senate Bill (SB) 247, which would make changes to decrease wait times for commercial insurance prior authorization requests. Introduced by Sen. Curt VanderWall (R-Ludington), the legislation would shorten the timeline for approval to seven calendar days, or 72 hours for urgent requests, as well as ensure that emergency care can be provided without prior approval. The MHA supports the bill and provided written testimony to the committee earlier in the year. SB 247 now heads to the House floor for a full vote.
The full House of Representatives March 16 voted in support of legislation to increase penalties for assaulting healthcare employees and volunteers. House Bill (HB) 5682, introduced by Rep. Mike Mueller (R-Linden), went through several changes in committee, and the language now doubles the fines for assaulting a healthcare employee or volunteer in any care setting. HB 5682 would also require the posting of signage in hospital emergency rooms to deter potential assaults. Michigan hospitals may obtain example signs from the MHA free of charge. The MHA supports the bill, which will now go to the Senate for further consideration.
For more information on these bills or other state legislation related to healthcare, contact Adam Carlson at the MHA.