The AAMC submitted a statement for the record to both the House Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee (PDF) and the House Ways and Means Committee (PDF) in conjunction with their Jan. 22 hearings examining health insurance affordability and insurer practices. Both committees featured the same panel of major health insurers, including executives from UnitedHealthcare, CVS Health/Aetna, Elevance Health, Cigna, and Humana. The intent of the hearings, which were the first in a series examining the health care sector, was to discuss rising premiums, access barriers, and the role insurers play in increasing health care costs.
Across both hearings, members of Congress focused on persistent concerns raised by patients and providers alike: the overuse of prior authorization, delayed and denied payments, narrow networks, and opaque plan designs that complicate access to medically necessary care. In its statement, the AAMC underscored how these practices disproportionately strain academic health systems and teaching hospitals already operating on thin margins, while also delaying care and increasing administrative burdens for hospitals and physicians. The AAMC urged Congress to advance meaningful reforms, including prior authorization oversight, prompt payment standards, and greater transparency in Medicare Advantage.
- Washington Highlights