YesOn766

If you are one of the many Vermonters with a health condition yourself or supporting a family member who needs to use their insurance benefits, H. 766 may help you access health care!

H. 766 has been signed by the Governor and will take effect on 1/1/25

What H. 766 does:

• Requires health plans to respond to urgent prior authorization requests within 24 hours – meaning less time waiting for an answer about live-saving medical services;
• If you are on ongoing, chronic medications, you will get to continue on your medication or treatment for five years without going through prior authorization again – instead of every year – saving you and your doctor time and stress each year;
• If you are stable on a medication, you or your provider can request to stay on it rather than going back through “step therapy” or “fail first” policies, which require a patient to try and fail one or more medications before they can access the medication actually recommended and prescribed by their healthcare provider;
• Allows you to access at least one readily available asthma controller medication without prior authorization– addressing a crisis in pediatrics right now where kids can’t obtain medication to help them breath and are ending up in the ED;
• Allows your primary care provider to order your tests, imaging and procedures with no prior authorization;
• If you switch to a new health plan, they will have to let you continue on a stable medication or treatment for at least 90 days.

** Note that these changes will only apply to private health plans regulated by the State, not Medicaid, Medicare or large group health plans.

• Read the text of the bill that passed the legislature here.
• Read the Governor's letter when he signed the bill here. 
• Read the VMS press statement on the Governor signing the bill here.