Cut the Red Tape. Protect Patients. Pass SB 306.
Prior authorization delays keep patients from timely care. SB 306 (Becker), the Defending Physicians' Decisions Act, streamlines approvals for routinely approved services so care isn’t stalled by paperwork.
The Problem
Prior authorization slows care and burdens physicians with hours of paperwork each week. Prior authorization delays often leave patients waiting in pain, prolonging treatment for chronic and mental health conditions, and in some cases, putting lives at risk.
The Solution
SB 306 tackles the prior authorization crisis head-on. It ends needless prior authorizations for services that are almost always approved, streamlines patients’ access to routine, evidence-based care, and preserves safeguards for complex or high-risk cases by targeting bad actors with oversight.
SB 306 cuts back on needless prior authorizations that delay care by:
- Removing red tape: Allows the California Department of Managed Health Care (DMHC) to waive prior authorization for services and prescriptions that are almost always approved.
- Improving transparency: Requires health plans to report prior authorization data to DMHC.
- Putting patients first: Ensures physicians can focus on care instead of paperwork.
- Strengthening California’s health care system: Reduces waste, creates clearer rules and improves outcomes.
Why It Matters
When forms bounce back and forth between plans and clinics, patients are left waiting. Physicians spend hours on paperwork instead of patient care. And as delays drag on, conditions worsen, costs rise and outcomes suffer. SB 306 puts patients—not paperwork—first.
Take Action Today
SB 306 passed the Senate unanimously and is now in the Assembly. Help move SB 306 across the finish line. Email your Assemblymember using our one-click tool to urge a YES vote on SB 306. Tell lawmakers how prior authorization delays affected you and your patients.
Below you will find a sample letter written from the physician perspective that you can submit with one click to urge a YES vote on SB 306.