UnitedHealthcare Will Drop Prior Authorization for About 1,700 Procedure Codes on October 1, Including Home Health and Therapy

UnitedHealthcare published a notice to providers in September 2026 confirming it will eliminate prior authorization requirements for roughly 1,700 medical procedure codes beginning October 1. The company said the reduction brings it to its stated goal of cutting pre-approval requirements by 30 percent from current levels, a commitment it announced in May 2026.

The change covers UnitedHealthcare's commercial, Medicare Advantage, Dual Special Needs Plan, Medicaid, and individual exchange plan lines. For Medicare Advantage and D-SNP enrollees specifically, the services losing prior authorization include home health, physical and occupational therapy, chiropractic care, cardiology, oncology, orthopedic and musculoskeletal procedures, certain genetic and laboratory tests, and durable medical equipment. Common outpatient procedures such as colonoscopies, endoscopies, hernia repairs, and joint injections are also on the list.

Prior authorization is not being eliminated across the board. UnitedHealthcare said it retains pre-approval requirements for higher-cost or higher-risk services and directed providers to check its authorization lookup tool to confirm which codes still require approval starting October 1.

The change comes about five weeks before the Medicare Advantage annual enrollment period opens on October 15. Prior authorization has drawn sustained regulatory attention in the program. According to CMS's first mandatory disclosure of prior authorization data, Medicare Advantage plans denied about 12 percent of standard prior authorization requests in 2025.