The House Ways & Means Committee held a markup session on July 15, 2026, adopting an amendment in the nature of a substitute and passing the amended Improving Seniors’ Timely Access to Care Act (H.R. 3514). The amendment primarily delays the effective date of the prior authorization requirements by one year, to on or after January 1, 2029, and makes other technical changes.

Representative Greg Murphy (R-NC), a physician, spoke the most forcefully in support of the legislation, lending his voice to the broad bipartisan support of the committee. He said it is time to “defang the insurance industry,” arguing that plans have “weaponized” prior authorization to deny care, harm patients, and maximize profits. The Committee voted unanimously to send the legislation to the House floor and encouraged its passage.

LeadingAge has long supported the legislation and continues to support the amended bill. It would require Medicare Advantage (MA) plans to establish an electronic prior authorization program that cannot rely on fax or proprietary plan portals unless they meet standards set by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary to standardize and streamline electronic requests. MA plans also would have to give contracted providers clear information on which items and services require prior authorization, the policies and procedures used to make decisions, the criteria used for determinations, and the documentation providers must submit. This would move providers away from the current guessing game.

The bill also codifies important transparency requirements by directing MA plans to report prior authorization data to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), giving a clearer view of approvals and denials by item and service. These data would help identify trends and pain points that delay access to needed care. CMS would publish the information at the individual plan level, giving consumers more insight when selecting an MA plan.

Finally, the bill establishes oversight and feedback mechanisms to support effective implementation and future improvements. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) would evaluate implementation, and the HHS Secretary would report regularly to Congress on plan-reported prior authorization data. The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) also would report to Congress on MA plans’ use of prior authorization and recommend improvements to the electronic prior authorization process.

The bill will now go to the House floor for consideration.  Given the bill’s broad bipartisan support including nearly 300 members of the House, it is eligible to be fast-tracked for a  House floor vote. The House has previously passed this legislation and would be expected to do so again. Following this action, the bill would require Senate approval before being transmitted to the President for his signature. LeadingAge is cautiously optimistic about the bill’s passage but this legislation has met with year-end obstacles before.