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Trump admin secures pledge from 75% of health insurers in bid to improve patient care
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Roughly three-quarters of the nation’s health insurance providers signed a series of commitments this week in an effort to improve patient care by reducing bureaucratic hurdles caused by insurance companies’ prior-authorization requirements.
Director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Dr. Mehmet Oz, alongside Health and Human Services Secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., announced the new voluntary pledge from a cadre of insurance providers, who cover roughly 75% of the population, during a press conference Monday. The new commitments are aimed at speeding up and reducing prior-authorization processes used by insurers, a process that has been long-maligned for unnecessarily delaying patient care and other bureaucratic hurdles negatively impacting patients.
«The pledge is not a mandate. It’s not a bill, a rule. This is not legislated. This is a opportunity for industry to show itself,» Oz said Monday. «But by the fact that three-quarters of the patients in the country are already covered by participants in this pledge, it’s a good start and the response has been overwhelming.»
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Health insurance companies representing roughly 75% of patients in the U.S. signed an industry-led pledge this week aimed at improving patient care through streamlining the long-maligned prior-authorization process used by insurance companies to ensure patients are receiving appropriate care. (Getty Images; AP; iStock)
Prior-authorization is a process that requires providers to obtain approval from a patient’s insurance provider before that provider can offer certain treatments or services. Essentially, the process seeks to ensure patients are getting the right solution for a particular problem.
However, according to Oz, the process has led to doctors being forced to spend enormous amounts of man-power to satisfy prior-authorization requirements from insurers. He noted during Monday’s press conference that, on average, physicians have to spend 12 hours a week dealing with these requirements, which they see about 40 of per week.
«It frustrates doctors. It sometimes results in care that is significantly delayed. It erodes public trust in the healthcare system. It’s something we can’t tolerate,» Oz insisted.
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Dr. Mehmet Oz, the director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, said during a press conference Monday announcing the new industry-led pledge, that the new commitments will significantly improve patient access to care. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
The pledge has been adopted by some of the nation’s largest insurance providers, including United Healthcare, Cigna, Humana, Blue Cross & Blue Shield, Aetna and many more. While the industry-led commitments aim to improve care for patients, it could potentially eat into their profits as well if patients start seeking care more often.
The commitments from insurers cemented this week include taking active steps to implement a common standardized process for electronic prior-authorization through the development of standardized submission requirements to support faster turnaround time. The goal is for the new framework to be operational by Jan. 1, 2027.
Another part of the pledge includes a commitment from individual insurance plans to implement certain reductions in its use of medical prior-authorization by Jan. 1, 2026. On that date, if patients switch insurance providers during the course of treatment, their new plan must honor their existing prior-authorization approvals for 90-days while the patient transitions.
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Prior-authorization is a long-criticized process that critics have argued blocks patients’ access to care. (iStock)
Transparency is also a key part of the new commitments from insurance providers. Health plans enjoined with the commitments will pledge to provide clear and easy-to-understand explanations of prior-authorization determinations, including guidance for appeals. The commitment also states that by 2027, 80% of electronic prior-authorization approvals from companies will be answered in real-time.
Oz, during the Monday press conference, compared the industry-led pledge to the Bible, saying, «The meek shall inherit the earth.»
«I always grew up thinking ‘meek’ meant weak, but that’s not what meek means. ‘Meek’ means you have a sharp sword, a sword that could do real damage to people around you, but you decide, electively, to sheathe that sword and put it away for a while, so you can do goods, so you can do important things where once in a while we have to get together, even if we’re competitors, and agree,» Oz said Monday.
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«That’s what these insurance companies and hospital systems have done,» he continued. «They have agreed to sheathe their swords to be meek for a while, to come up with a better solution to a problem that plagues us all.»
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California allocating $35M to support illegal immigrants amid Trump’s mass deportation agenda
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California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the allocation of $35 million in state funding to support illegal immigrants as the Trump administration carries out its massive deportation agenda.
Newsom’s office is releasing the money that the legislature set aside in the state budget to help philanthropic partners support immigrant families with food assistance and other resources, according to a press release.
These funds are on top of funds the state already allocated to provide legal resources to those facing deportation.
«While the federal government targets hardworking families, California stands with them – uniting partners and funding local communities to help support their neighbors,» Newsom said in the release. «The urgent need grows as the Trump Administration accelerates mass detention, tramples due process, and funds authoritarian enforcement with over $170 billion. As the Trump Administration chooses cruelty and chaos, California chooses community.»
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced the allocation of $35 million in state funding to support illegal immigrants. (Tayfun Coskun/Getty Images)
A spokesperson for Newsom said he has been speaking with immigrant families and community leaders about the federal government’s immigration crackdown.
«People are afraid to leave their homes, afraid to go to school or work, and unable to afford groceries,» the spokesperson told CalMatters.
California allocated the money despite significant budget constraints, as Newsom’s office anticipates a $2.9 billion deficit in the coming budget year, according to CalMatters. The state also limited health care for illegal immigrants this year to help make up for a larger deficit last year.
«When federal actions create fear and instability, our responsibility is to show up for families. This investment strengthens local partners who are helping people access legal services and meet basic needs during an incredibly difficult moment,» Kim Johnson, secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency, said in the release.
Democrat state Sen. Lena Gonzalez, chair of the California Latino Legislative Caucus, said the funding shows her party will «continue to stand in solidarity with our immigrant families.»
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The legislature set aside money in the state budget to help philanthropic partners support immigrant families with food assistance and other resources. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
«The federal government is waging a war on our communities – and we won’t stand for it,» Gonzalez said. «We are putting money behind an effort to stop the fear, stop the separation of our families and stop violating our basic rights.»
Assemblymember Carl DeMaio, a Republican, blasted the funding as «absurd.»
«If you were audited by the IRS and found to owe money and back taxes, as a citizen, you couldn’t say, ‘Well, I want a free lawyer to fight the federal government,’» DeMaio told CalMatters.
President Donald Trump campaigned on a major immigration crackdown and has since followed through with that promise through mass deportations.
In June, Trump signed a budget bill that included $170 billion for immigration enforcement, detention and deportation, an investment that aims to remove up to 1 million immigrants from the U.S. per year over four years.
FEDERAL OFFICIALS TO HALT MORE THAN $10B IN FUNDING TO 5 STATES OVER NON-CITIZEN BENEFIT CONCERNS: REPORT
The funds are in addition to funds the state allocated to provide legal resources to migrants facing deportation. (Pool)
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California state funds set aside for immigration legal services prevent money from being used to help people with serious or violent felony convictions fight against deportations, CalMatters reported.
California laws do not block state corrections staff from moving illegal immigrants who have been convicted of serious or violent felonies to Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
«California will never be silent in the face of Trump’s cruel and unlawful immigration raids. We will meet fear and intimidation with courage and action,» Speaker of the Assembly Robert Rivas, a Democrat, said in the release.
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Iran president vows defiance as protests build against regime amid US military build up
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Anti-government protests are resurging across Iran, with videos showing students chanting slogans against the regime as nuclear negotiations with the United States are set to resume on Thursday.
A video translated by Reuters showed demonstrators shouting «We’ll fight, we’ll die, we’ll reclaim Iran,» reflecting growing anger towards the country’s leadership.
The renewed unrest follows months of frustration over economic hardship, repression and previous crackdowns, placing additional domestic pressure on the regime as talks unfold. Analysts say the convergence of protests at home, military pressure abroad and a stalled diplomatic track has hardened rhetoric on both sides rather than pushing them toward compromise.
Military members of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in western Tehran, Iran. (Morteza Nikoubazl/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
The Iranian regime, meanwhile, is striking a defiant tone. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran would «not bow down» to pressure tied to nuclear negotiations, warning that external coercion would not change Iran’s stance, according to Al Jazeera.
His remarks come ahead of a new round of U.S.–Iran talks set for Thursday in Geneva, confirmed by Oman, which is mediating the discussions. The negotiations aim to address Tehran’s nuclear program amid rising regional tensions, though major disputes remain over enrichment limits, sanctions relief and the scope of any deal.
In a February speech analyzed by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled out abandoning uranium enrichment and rejected U.S. demands to include Iran’s ballistic missile program and regional proxy activity in negotiations.
The analysis, authored by FDD research analyst Janatan Sayeh and Iran Program Senior Director Behnam Ben Taleblu, noted that Khamenei has escalated attacks on Washington’s leadership, calling President Donald Trump a «criminal» for backing Iranian protests and circulating rhetoric likening him to a tyrant.
US POSITIONS AIRCRAFT CARRIERS, STRIKE PLATFORMS ACROSS MIDDLE EAST AS IRAN TALKS SHIFT TO OMAN
An exercise aimed at assessing readiness and rehearsing responses to security threats comes during a second round of talks. ( Press Office of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps / Handout/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Meanwhile, the United States has expanded its military presence in the Middle East while signaling force remains an option. The deployments have shaped both the tone and urgency of the negotiations, reinforcing that diplomacy is unfolding under the shadow of potential escalation.
Special envoy Steve Witkoff warned Saturday that Iran could be «a week away» from having «industrial-grade bomb-making material,» citing enrichment levels he said are approaching weapons capability.
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Iran Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses the public on the occasion of the 47th anniversary of the Iranian Revolution, according to Iranian state television in Tehran, Iran, on February 9, 2026. (Iranian Leader Press Office/Anadolu via Getty Images)
«It’s up to 60%,» Witkoff said. «They’re probably a week away from having industrial-grade bomb-making material.» He made the remarks on «My View with Lara Trump,» describing the situation as dangerous and accusing Iran of violating President Trump’s «zero enrichment» red line.
U.S. officials have warned that failure to reach an agreement could trigger serious consequences, while Tehran has signaled readiness to retaliate if attacked, reinforcing the sense that negotiations are taking place under intense pressure.
Reuters contributed to this report.
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