Time is Therapy: What Managed Care Can Learn from Individuals Navigating Infusion Access
One of the most impactful sessions I attended at the 2026 National Infusion Center Association (NICA) Conference was “The Do's and Don'ts of Infusion Care: A Patient's Perspective.” The session featured individuals living with rare, chronic, and autoimmune conditions who rely on infusion therapies to maintain their independence, health, and well-being.
What stood out was not only the barriers the panelists described but also how health care policies, utilization management requirements, benefit design, and administrative processes are experienced in real life. Panelists described a system that too often fails the very people it is intended to help, citing treatment deserts, prolonged diagnostic journeys, and a maze of requirements navigated during some of the most vulnerable moments in a patient's life. These stories reinforced that behind every prior authorization request, coverage decision, and policy is a person seeking timely access to care.
One message was especially powerful: when treatment is medically necessary, time is therapy. Prior authorization, denials, appeals, and step therapy requirements may be intended to support appropriate care, but for individuals living with chronic conditions, these processes often result in delays, disease progression, stress, and uncertainty. These delays are not merely administrative inconveniences—they are life-altering and can adversely affect health outcomes and quality of life.
Living with a complex condition affects far more than a medical diagnosis. It influences careers, finances, family life, social relationships, mental health, and independence. Individuals should not have to become experts in navigating the health care system while simultaneously managing a serious illness.
Our work with patients and providers at Accessia Health aligns closely with these insights. Charitable patient assistance organizations have evolved beyond providing copay assistance to addressing broader barriers to care, including insurance premiums, coinsurance, travel expenses, and other health care-related costs that determine whether an individual can initiate or remain on therapy.
Advocacy also emerged as an essential component of meaningful change. Sustainable improvements in access require patients, providers, health plans, policymakers, and advocacy organizations to work together to identify barriers and develop policies that support timely, equitable care.
One quote from the panel has stayed with me: "We are human first." It is a reminder that health care policies must be designed with patients at the center. By listening to individuals living with complex conditions, we can build a system that not o
nly delivers care but also supports people with dignity, empathy, and purpose.
This perspective aligns with Accessia Health's tagline, "We speak health and human." Every health care decision represents a person—not simply a diagnosis or a claim. Patient assistance organizations can help bridge gaps in access to care, but lasting change will require health care systems designed around access, coordination, and compassion.
Jessica M. Collins, MBA, is patient and provider engagement manager at Accessia Health, where she focuses on building partnerships with providers, specialty pharmacies, and advocacy organizations to improve access to care. With more than 18 years of experience in patient services, she is passionate about supporting individuals and families facing complex health challenges and helping remove barriers to care.
