Feds take aim at prior authorization

When Paula Chestnut needed hip replacement surgery last year, a pre-operative X-ray found irregularities in her chest.

As a smoker for 40 years, Chestnut was at high risk for lung cancer. A specialist in Los Angeles recommended the 67-year-old undergo an MRI, a high-resolution image that could help spot the disease.

Related: CMS proposes streamlining, automating prior authorizations

But her MRI appointment kept getting canceled, Chestnut’s…