Texas physician 'gold card' rules take effect Oct. 1

Physicians and providers in Texas will begin seeing the effects of the state's "gold card" law Oct. 1. 

Under the law, physicians who have a 90 percent prior authorization approval rate over a six-month period on certain services are exempt from prior authorization requirements for those services. 

Gold cards are granted per plan, per procedure, Mr. Stewart said. Providers and physicians do not apply for the cards. Rather, health plans run an evaluation to see if the providers meet the 90 percent threshold, and the plans are responsible for notifying the provider of whether they qualify.