Sens. Ossoff Continuing Push to Ban Health Insurance Companies from Denying or Delaying Needed Health Care

This year, Sen. Ossoff has offered two Senate amendments to ban insurance companies from denying or delaying needed care

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senator Jon Ossoff is continuing his work to ban health insurance companies from denying or delaying Georgians' needed health care.

This week, Sens. Ossoff, Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), and Ron Wyden (D-OR) launched inquiries with six leading health insurance companies for updates on their June 2025 pledge to reduce prior authorization practices, where an insurance company must first approve and can deny patients' care, even if doctors prescribe patients the treatment they say they need.

In their inquiries, Sens. Ossoff, Whitehouse, and Wyden requested updates and transparency on whether meaningful changes have been made for patients and providers since that pledge was made and asked the insurance companies to provide clear details on their progress to stop unnecessary delays or denials of needed health care.

"Patients and physicians share skepticism that insurers participating in this pledge will uphold their promises," Sens. Ossoff, Whitehouse, and Wyden wrote. "One year later, we call on you to translate these flashy statistics into meaningful difference that protects patients from abusive delays and denials of care."

Sen. Ossoff continues to work to ban insurance companies from denying or delaying needed health care.

Last month, Sen. Ossoff released the fourth report of his ongoing health care investigation, which detailed stories from Georgia patients who say that delays and denials of medically necessary health care have led to prolonged pain and serious, untreated conditions.

In September, Sen. Ossoff released the investigation's third report, which included stories from Georgians who have faced delays or denials of medically necessary health care resulting in prolonged painful symptoms and a lower quality of life, and the second report in August revealed how Georgians are suffering from untreated life-threatening conditions, and/or severe financial hardship as a result of the delays or denials of medically necessary health care.

Sen. Ossoff's first report from July outlined stories of Georgians who report they have been delaying necessary care and are paying thousands more for care after the loss of the ACA tax credits, with some saying they've lost insurance altogether because of the high costs.

In July, Senate Republicans blocked a Senate resolution cosponsored by Sen. Ossoff to stop the Trump Administration from allowing artificial intelligence to improperly deny seniors' needed health care.

In June, during the Senate's vote series, Sen. Ossoff offered an amendment to prevent insurance companies from denying or delaying needed health care, but Senate Republicans blocked Sen. Ossoff's amendment. This followed Senate Republicans blocking Sen. Ossoff's amendment during a Senate budget debate in April.

Please find Sens. Ossoff, Whitehouse, and Wyden's inquiries here with Aetna, Blue Cross Blue Shield, Cigna, Elevance Health, Humana, and UnitedHealthcare.

# # #