{"id":2153476,"date":"2026-02-17T05:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-17T10:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/?post_type=article&#038;p=2153476"},"modified":"2026-02-17T05:09:32","modified_gmt":"2026-02-17T10:09:32","slug":"listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline","status":"publish","type":"article","link":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/","title":{"rendered":"Listen: Why Do I Need Prior Authorization?"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"block--iframe\">\n\t<iframe\n\t\tallow=\"fullscreen\"\n\t\tframeborder=\"0\"\n\t\theight=\"250\"\n\t\tsrc=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/player\/embed\/nx-s1-5707594\/nx-s1-mx-5707594-1\"\n\t\twidth=\"100%\"\n\t><\/iframe>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Listen in as \u201cLife Kit\u201d host Marielle Segarra and health reporter Sarah Boden untangle the red tape that can make the prior authorization process frustrating.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\" \/>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"block--sidebar alignright \">\n\t\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-kaiser-health-news-partner block--partner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"partner__image--link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/news\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img decoding=\"async\" class=\"partner__image\" src=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2022\/07\/npr-hi-res-logo.png?w=120\" alt=\"Partner logo\" \/>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"partner__content\">\n\t\tThis story also ran on <a href=\"http:\/\/www.npr.org\/sections\/news\/\">NPR<\/a>. It can be <a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/view\/republish\/\">republished for free<\/a>.\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"is-style-classic  wp-block-kff-common-promo\">\n\t\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-kff-common-promo__image\">\n\t\t\t<a class=\"wp-block-kff-common-promo__link\" href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/health-care-helpline-share-your-story\/\">\n\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"500\" height=\"333\" src=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/HHH-Logo-v4-final-copy.jpg?w=500\" class=\"attachment-medium size-medium\" alt=\"\" \/>\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<div class=\"wp-block-kff-common-promo__inner\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"wp-block-kff-common-promo__title\">\n\t\t\t\t<a class=\"wp-block-kff-common-promo__link\" href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/health-care-helpline-share-your-story\/\">\n\t\t\t\t\tHeadaches Over the Health System?\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/h3>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<p class=\"wp-block-kff-common-promo__excerpt\">Health Care Helpline helps you navigate the hurdles between you and good care. Send us your tricky question and we may tap a policy sleuth to puzzle it out. This crowdsourced project is from NPR and KFF Health News.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<a class=\"wp-block-kff-common-promo__read-more wp-block-kff-common-promo__link\" href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/health-care-helpline-share-your-story\/\">Share your story<\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n<\/aside>\n\n\n\n<p>When the doctor says you need a prescription or treatment, sometimes you need approval from your health insurance first. That\u2019s called prior authorization. Without that sign-off, insurance won\u2019t pay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What triggers the need for prior authorization is not fully clear. It\u2019s another \u201cblack box\u201d part of the health care system.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You might think insurance companies mostly target expensive treatments or care approaches when a disagreement over effectiveness prompts a prior authorization review. Often that\u2019s not the case. Some doctors complain they spend a lot of time filling out paperwork to try to secure approval for medicine or treatments that are routine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the meantime, patients can be left in pain, while their medical conditions worsen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Health Care Helpline helps you navigate the health system hurdles between you and good care. Send us your tricky question and we may tap a policy sleuth to puzzle it out. <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/health-care-helpline-share-your-story\/\"><em>Share your story<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>When the doctor says you need a prescription or treatment, sometimes you need approval from your health insurance first. Without it, they won\u2019t pay. Health reporter Sarah Boden joins \u201cLife Kit\u201d host Marielle Segarra to discuss prior authorization.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":2077259,"template":"","meta":{"_cr_original_post":"","_cr_replace_post_id":"","_cr_replacing_post_id":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"kff_featured_video":0,"kff_show_featured_video":false,"kff_show_mute_audio_button":false,"custom_shortlink":"\/MjE1MzQ3Ng","kaiser_health_news_byline_override":"","kaiser_health_news_can_republish":true,"kaiser_health_news_featured_image_caption":"","kaiser_health_news_header_overlay_color":"","kaiser_health_news_header_theme_slug":"","kaiser_health_news_hero_image":0,"kaiser_health_news_backdrop_padding":115,"kaiser_health_news_hide_partner":false,"kaiser_health_news_kicker":"","kaiser_health_news_kicker_background_color":"","kaiser_health_news_kicker_text_color":"","kaiser_health_news_kicker_url":"","kaiser_health_news_nav_theme_slug":"compact","kaiser_health_news_nav_transparency":false,"kaiser_health_news_sharing_title":"","kaiser_health_news_show_featured_image":false,"kaiser_health_news_subheadline":"","kaiser_health_news_suppress_kicker":false,"kaiser_health_news_suppress_subheadline":false,"kaiser_health_news_update_time":"","kaiser_health_news_vertical_image":0,"kaiser_health_news_title_align_left":false,"kaiser_health_news_custom_header_image":0,"photo_byline":[],"story_update":"","update_position":"bottom","kaiser_syndication_sites":[],"apple_news_api_created_at":"2026-02-17T10:09:39Z","apple_news_api_id":"1fed20ed-e2e4-446e-a72a-320f6fcab031","apple_news_api_modified_at":"2026-02-17T10:09:39Z","apple_news_api_revision":"AAAAAAAAAAD\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/w==","apple_news_api_share_url":"https:\/\/apple.news\/AH-0g7eLkRG6nKjIPb8qwMQ","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":["https:\/\/news-api.apple.com\/sections\/20265c01-23d7-4d15-96e0-0691b89c3772"],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[439524256,12498,4755,36835],"tags":[439524403,439530215],"primary-topic":[],"partners":[439524320],"funder":[],"coauthors":[439529826],"class_list":["post-2153476","article","type-article","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health-care-costs","category-insurance","category-multimedia","category-syndicate","tag-audio","tag-health-care-helpline","partners-npr"],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v25.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Listen: Why Do I Need Prior Authorization? - KFF Health News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"When the doctor says you need a prescription or treatment, sometimes you need approval from your health insurance first. Without it, they won\u2019t pay. Health reporter Sarah Boden joins \u201cLife Kit\u201d host Marielle Segarra to discuss prior authorization.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Listen: Why Do I Need Prior Authorization? - KFF Health News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When the doctor says you need a prescription or treatment, sometimes you need approval from your health insurance first. Without it, they won\u2019t pay. Health reporter Sarah Boden joins \u201cLife Kit\u201d host Marielle Segarra to discuss prior authorization.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"KFF Health News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-17T10:09:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/HHH-Logo-v4-final-copy.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"3840\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"2560\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/\",\"name\":\"Listen: Why Do I Need Prior Authorization? - KFF Health News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/HHH-Logo-v4-final-copy.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-17T10:00:00+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-17T10:09:32+00:00\",\"description\":\"When the doctor says you need a prescription or treatment, sometimes you need approval from your health insurance first. Without it, they won\u2019t pay. Health reporter Sarah Boden joins \u201cLife Kit\u201d host Marielle Segarra to discuss prior authorization.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/HHH-Logo-v4-final-copy.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/HHH-Logo-v4-final-copy.jpg\",\"width\":3840,\"height\":2560},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Articles\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Listen: Why Do I Need Prior Authorization?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/\",\"name\":\"KFF Health News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Listen: Why Do I Need Prior Authorization? - KFF Health News","description":"When the doctor says you need a prescription or treatment, sometimes you need approval from your health insurance first. Without it, they won\u2019t pay. Health reporter Sarah Boden joins \u201cLife Kit\u201d host Marielle Segarra to discuss prior authorization.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Listen: Why Do I Need Prior Authorization? - KFF Health News","og_description":"When the doctor says you need a prescription or treatment, sometimes you need approval from your health insurance first. Without it, they won\u2019t pay. Health reporter Sarah Boden joins \u201cLife Kit\u201d host Marielle Segarra to discuss prior authorization.","og_url":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/","og_site_name":"KFF Health News","article_modified_time":"2026-02-17T10:09:32+00:00","og_image":[{"width":3840,"height":2560,"url":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/HHH-Logo-v4-final-copy.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/","url":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/","name":"Listen: Why Do I Need Prior Authorization? - KFF Health News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/HHH-Logo-v4-final-copy.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-17T10:00:00+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-17T10:09:32+00:00","description":"When the doctor says you need a prescription or treatment, sometimes you need approval from your health insurance first. Without it, they won\u2019t pay. Health reporter Sarah Boden joins \u201cLife Kit\u201d host Marielle Segarra to discuss prior authorization.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/HHH-Logo-v4-final-copy.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/08\/HHH-Logo-v4-final-copy.jpg","width":3840,"height":2560},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/listen-prior-authorization-tips-life-kit-helpline\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Articles","item":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/article\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Listen: Why Do I Need Prior Authorization?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/#website","url":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/","name":"KFF Health News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"}]}},"authors":[{"name":"Sarah Boden","link":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/news\/author\/sarah-boden\/","id":"1947862"}],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/2153476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/article"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/2153476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2156578,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/article\/2153476\/revisions\/2156578"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2077259"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2153476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2153476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2153476"},{"taxonomy":"primary-topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/primary-topic?post=2153476"},{"taxonomy":"partners","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/partners?post=2153476"},{"taxonomy":"funder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/funder?post=2153476"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kffhealthnews.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=2153476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}