PAN Foundation joins over 100 healthcare allies asking Congress to advance the Safe Step Act

The PAN Foundation and 106 other patient and provider organizations of the Safe Step Act Ad Hoc Coalition submitted a letter to members of the Congressional Committee on Education and the Workforce, urging them to mark up and advance H.R. 2630, the Safe Step Act.

Insurance-mandated step therapy is a utilization management protocol that requires patients to try and fail on one or more insurer-preferred treatments before the plan will cover the treatment initially selected by the patient and their provider. When medically inappropriate, step therapy delays patient access to needed treatments and can lead to severe or irreversible health consequences. HR 2630, the Safe Step Act, would ensure that employer plans, and the pharmacy benefit managers that support them, offer a timely step therapy exceptions process for patients and their providers.

The Safe Step Act would complement the pharmacy benefit manager transparency provisions under consideration by the Committee by improving patient access to needed care. The bill would also update the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in line with medical practice standards and Medicare.

• Read the coalition’s letter to Congress
• Read our position statement on utilization management practices, including step therapy and “fail first” policies