ALBIA, Iowa (KCRG) – Doctors who want to rule out cancer won’t have to ask for prior authorizations under a bill Gov. Kim Reynolds signed into law Tuesday.
Iowa has one of the country’s highest rates of cancer. Patients seeking cancer screenings could experience delays because of health insurance denials. The new bill eliminates the requirement for approval from insurance companies.
“We know those prior authorizations can take several weeks at some times to be able to get approved or denied, and this would now prohibit them. So they’re going to be able to get those screenings much faster,” said Iowa State Representative Austin Harris, Republican from Appanoose County.
Another of the bill’s provisions will set deadlines for insurance companies to communicate with hospitals about the status of patients’ claims.
“By establishing firm timelines for notifications, decisions, and appeals, insurance companies will now be required to provide clear clinical explanations when care is denied. And this helps providers spend less time navigating red tape and more time with the people they serve,” Gov. Reynolds said.
The bill also regulates health insurance companies and their use of artificial intelligence when deciding to approve or deny a claim.
“One of the things that we have seen over time is that there has been some effort to only use AI in denials. And so we didn’t want that,” said Shelly Russell, board chair for Iowa Hospital Association. “That’s a piece of that bill so that they couldn’t just deny it based only on AI. There has to be a human element in that,” Russell said.
The new law takes effect July 1.
Copyright 2026 KCRG. All rights reserved.