Vizient shares comments with CMS to improve prior authorization for drugs

IRVING, Texas, June 12, 2026 — Vizient® today submitted comments to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology on a proposed rule to streamline the prior authorization process for drugs. Vizient's comments address several key areas, including support for expanding electronic prior authorization (ePA) requirements to help ease provider burden and enhance access and recommendations for prior authorization metrics to improve transparency.

In our comments, Vizient expressed support for CMS's proposal to extend ePA requirements to drugs covered by several different types of payers, including Medicare Advantage organizations and Qualified Health Plan (QHP) issuers on the Federally Facilitated Exchanges (FFE). Vizient noted that standardized ePA processes and specific timelines for prior authorization decisions can reduce administrative complexity, improve consistency across payers, and help patients access medically necessary treatments more efficiently.

"Different payers’ prior authorization policies can create unnecessary challenges for patients and providers," said Shoshana Krilow, senior vice president of public policy and government relations for Vizient. "We appreciate CMS's efforts to improve these processes and encourage the agency to advance policies that increase transparency and support more timely access to care.”

Vizient also encouraged CMS to strengthen transparency and reduce provider burden by requiring payers to provide more detailed information for resubmissions and appeals and more granular reporting of prior authorization metrics to help identify recurring access challenges for both drugs and non-drug items and services.

Learn more about Vizient's advocacy and public policy efforts.

About Vizient, Inc.
Vizient, Inc., the nation’s largest provider-driven healthcare performance improvement company, provides solutions and services to more than two-thirds of the nation’s acute care providers and more than one-third of ambulatory providers. Vizient offers proprietary data and analytics to deliver unique clinical and operational insights and a contract portfolio representing $156 billion in annual purchasing volume enabling the delivery of cost-effective care. With its acquisition of Kaufman Hall in 2024, Vizient expanded its advisory services to help providers achieve financial, clinical and operational excellence. Headquartered in Irving, Texas, Vizient has offices throughout the United States. Learn more at www.vizientinc.com.