Good news from UnitedHealthcare: The insurer has announced that it will significantly reduce the use of prior authorization across several plans in areas that impact the delivery of physical therapist services, home health, and durable medical equipment, aka DME. The change is being applauded by APTA, which has long argued that payers' overuse of prior authorization is an obstacle to the efficient delivery of needed health care services.

The removal of prior authorization requirements for a range of procedure codes will be phased in beginning Sept. 1, with additional changes implemented Nov. 1. UnitedHealthcare commercial, Oxford, Medicare Advantage,  Individual Exchange, and Community plans are those affected. According to UHC, the changes are part of a larger effort that will eliminate 20% of the insurer's overall prior authorization volume.

Here's a rundown of what UHC announced for each type of plan.

Commercial. Beginning Sept. 1, a number of physical therapy procedures will be removed from prior authorization requirements. DME items are not included in the change.

Oxford. Multiple physical therapy procedures will be removed from prior authorization requirements using a phased-in approach (Sept. 1, Nov. 1). Prior authorization requirements will also be lifted for DME and homecare-related codes.

Medicare Advantage. A range of DME and homecare-related codes will be removed from prior authorization requirements using a phased-in approach (Sept. 1, Nov. 1. Physical therapy codes are not included in the change.

Individual Exchange. A range of DME and homecare-related codes will be removed from prior authorization requirements using a phased-in approach (Sept. 1, Nov. 1. Physical therapy codes are not included in the change.

Community. Beginning Nov. 1, a range of DME and homecare-related codes will be removed from prior authorization requirements. Physical therapy codes are not included in the change.

More details, including lists of the specific codes that will be removed from prior authorization, can be found on this UHC webpage announcing the change. In that announcement, UHC states that the changes are part of its "comprehensive effort to simplify the health care experience for our members and network health care professionals."

The improved policies for PTs and their patients is the second piece of good news UHC delivered over the summer: In July, the insurer announced that it was walking back a plan that would have required PTs to obtain additional signoffs around plans of care — an expansion of requirements that threatened to significantly increase administrative burden for PTs and potentially delay needed care.

"Once more, we applaud UnitedHealthcare's efforts to reduce unneeded requirements and facilitate access to care," said Wanda Evans, PT, DPT, MHS, APTA senior health policy and payment specialist. "It's encouraging to see a major payer not only state its commitment to simplifying the health care experience, but take steps to act on that commitment."