pre-authorization

noun

variants or preauthorization
: prior authorization
pre-authorization of credit card purchases
especially : authorization (as by an insurer) that is required prior to performance of a health care service (such as a surgery or prescription of a drug)
Hospital leaders expect the new managed care companies to demand pre-authorization for many treatments, which could lead to fewer reimbursements and more hospital staff time devoted to hashing out billing differences. Tony Leys
Preauthorization requires doctors, like me, to spend time we do not have dealing with insurance companies to get the medicine our patients so desperately need. Chinazo Cunningham
pre-authorize transitive verb
or preauthorize

Examples of pre-authorization in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
To manage the hefty price tag, insurers have implemented extensive pre-authorization procedures. Jason Kane, NBC News, 18 Jan. 2025 In addition to the new EES system, the European Union will also plan to implement a pre-authorization system next year called the European Travel Information and Authorisation System (or ETIAS). Alison Fox, Travel + Leisure, 15 Oct. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of pre-authorization was in 1949

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Pre-authorization.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/pre-authorization. Accessed 21 Mar. 2025.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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