Amazon, Google, Meta, Oracle and Axon back e-prior auth for self-funded plans
On Oct. 21, 2026, CMS and the Department of Labor announced that five large employers signed a statement of support for extending electronic prior authorization improvements to self-funded health plans. The employers are Amazon, Google, Meta, Oracle and Axon Enterprise. The statement asks the insurers and third-party administrators that joined the 2025 federal prior authorization pledge to make the same upgrades available to self-insured plan sponsors. The employers did not commit to reducing prior authorization in their own plans. They said any such changes would be weighed against their ERISA fiduciary duties and decided plan by plan.
Why it's notable: More than half of Americans are covered through self-funded employer plans, which the federal electronic prior authorization rules for Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, CHIP and ACA plans do not reach. The statement is voluntary, but it is the first push from large employers to bring those patients into the prior auth fixes.