The Prevent Blindness government affairs team has been notified of a potential opportunity to share your story with lawmakers about the harmful impact of “step therapy.” We understand that, in an effort to pass the Safe Step Act into law, legislators want to hear patient stories that will help compel action on this important bill. If you have been impacted by step therapy and are willing to share your story in a legislative setting, please email Sara Everett Brown ASAP at: [email protected] for more information.
About Step Therapy
Step therapy (also known as “fail first”) is a practice employed by insurers and health plans that essentially denies coverage for certain prescribed treatments and instead requires the patient to use cheaper medications first and prove that the medication is ineffective before switching to the originally prescribed medication. This can be especially harmful for people who are facing progressive vision loss as time is often the most important asset they have to prevent vision loss and blindness. The Safe Step Act, which Prevent Blindness supports along with a wide swath of patient advocacy groups who advocate on behalf of people who face an array of conditions and diseases, would implement protocols that could potentially allow patients to bypass step therapy protocols and receive timely information about insurance coverage to prevent unnecessary delays from happening.