Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. joined other federal health officials on Monday to promote an initiative to end the practice of healthcare insurance pre-authorization.

Kennedy was joined by Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services Administrator Mehmet Oz as part of a roundtable discussion with insurers to discuss pledges made by the health insurance industry to streamline and reform the prior authorization process for Medicare Advantage, Medicaid Managed Care and Affordable Care Act Health Insurance Marketplace plans which account for most insured Americans.

The HHS Secretary commented on how when he joined the presidential transition team, he was told that the single most important thing he could do to improve the experience of patients across the nation was to “end the scourge of pre-authorization.”

Kennedy also reported on the high number of dissatisfied Americans who have suffered under prior authorization, saying, “85% of Americans say that they had delays in health care because of prior authorization. The doctors hate it. Costs them 12-15 hours a week filling out forms.”

Participating health insurers have agreed to six key reforms which HHS says are “aimed at cutting red tape, accelerating care decisions, and enhancing transparency for patients and providers.”

Companies that took part in the roundtable discussion included Aetna, Inc., AHIP, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, CareFirst BlueCross BlueShield, Centene Corporation, The Cigna Group, Elevance Health, GuideWell, Highmark Health, Humana, Inc., Kaiser Permanente, and UnitedHealthcare.

Kennedy thanked the companies for their commitments and noted, “Pitting patients and their doctors against massive companies was not good for anyone. We are actively working with industry to make it easier to get prior authorization for common services such as diagnostic imaging, physical therapy, and outpatient surgery.”