Prior Authorization Phone Numbers by Payer: 2026 Master Directory

Why Phone Numbers Still Matter for Prior Auth in 2026

Despite a decade of investment in payer portals and electronic prior authorization (ePA), the telephone remains the fastest path to a decision when a request is genuinely urgent. Industry surveys put the median portal turnaround for non-urgent specialty PAs at 3 to 7 calendar days, while a phone-initiated expedited review at most major payers must reach a decision within 24 to 72 hours under federal and state utilization-review rules. For inpatient discharge planning, oncology starts, and acute behavioral health, those hours matter clinically.

Phone calls also unlock paths that portals do not surface. A live agent can confirm whether a member's plan is fully insured or self-funded (which changes the appeal route), trigger a peer-to-peer with the medical director the same day, identify a missing data element before the request is formally denied, and read the exact medical policy criterion that is failing — none of which a portal status page reliably reveals.

The trade-off is hold time. Average commercial PA hold times in early 2026 run 12 to 28 minutes, with PBMs trending higher during open enrollment. The mitigation is preparation: have every required field at hand before dialing so the call ends in a reference number rather than a callback.

National Commercial Carriers (with PA Phone Numbers)

These five carriers cover the majority of commercial covered lives in the United States. The numbers below are the primary clinical/PA intake lines; group-specific lines may differ and are printed on the back of the member ID card.

• ✓ UnitedHealthcare — 1-877-842-3210 (provider services and PA intake; OptumRx pharmacy PA routes through 1-800-711-4555)
• ✓ Aetna — 1-800-624-0756 (commercial precertification line)
• ✓ Cigna — 1-800-882-4462 (Cigna HealthCare provider services; specialty PA via Accredo and Express Scripts)
• ✓ Humana — 1-800-523-0023 (provider PA intake; Humana Clinical Pharmacy Review for Part D and commercial pharmacy)
• ✓ Anthem (Elevance Health) — phone varies by state plan; the back of the member ID card carries the precertification number for that specific Blue Cross Blue Shield Anthem affiliate

All 26 BCBS Affiliate Phone Numbers

The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association is a federation of 33 independent licensees, and prior authorization is administered separately by each. A Florida Blue member treated by a New York provider will have their PA reviewed by Florida Blue, not by Excellus. Calling the wrong affiliate is one of the most common reasons a PA stalls, so always match the phone number to the alpha prefix on the member ID.

• ✓ BCBS Alabama — 1-800-248-2342
• ✓ BCBS Tennessee — 1-800-924-7141
• ✓ BCBS South Carolina — 1-800-334-7287
• ✓ BCBS Arizona — 1-800-446-8331
• ✓ BCBS Louisiana — 1-800-495-2583
• ✓ BCBS Massachusetts — 1-800-366-7778
• ✓ BCBS Michigan — 1-800-437-3086
• ✓ BCBS Texas (HCSC) — 1-800-528-7264
• ✓ BCBS Minnesota — 1-800-262-0820
• ✓ BCBS Mississippi — 1-800-222-8046
• ✓ BCBS New Mexico (HCSC) — 1-800-325-8334
• ✓ Wellmark BCBS (IA/SD) — 1-800-524-9178
• ✓ Blue Shield of California — 1-800-541-6652
• ✓ Florida Blue — 1-800-955-5692
• ✓ BCBS North Carolina — 1-800-672-7897
• ✓ Arkansas BCBS — 1-800-238-8379
• ✓ Horizon BCBS New Jersey — 1-800-664-2583
• ✓ Highmark BCBS (PA/WV/DE) — 1-800-547-3627
• ✓ Independence Blue Cross (Southeastern PA) — 1-800-275-2583
• ✓ CareFirst BCBS (MD/DC/Northern VA) — 1-866-773-2884
• ✓ BCBS Illinois (HCSC) — 1-800-972-8088
• ✓ BCBS Oklahoma (HCSC) — 1-800-635-3917
• ✓ Excellus BCBS (Upstate NY) — 1-800-363-4658
• ✓ Premera Blue Cross (WA/AK) — 1-800-722-1471
• ✓ Regence BCBS (OR/ID/UT/select WA) — 1-800-638-0449
• ✓ Always confirm the line of business — commercial, Medicare Advantage, FEP, and Medicaid each have separate intake queues at most BCBS affiliates

Major PBM (Pharmacy Benefit) Phone Numbers

Self-administered specialty drugs and most retail prescriptions are governed by the pharmacy benefit, which is administered by a PBM rather than the medical carrier. When the PA denial letter arrives on PBM letterhead, the medical carrier line will not be able to help — the PBM owns the criteria and the decision.

• ✓ Express Scripts — 1-800-753-2851 (provider services and pharmacy PA)
• ✓ CVS Caremark — 1-855-240-0536 (specialty PA intake; 1-800-294-5979 for general provider services)
• ✓ OptumRx — 1-800-711-4555 (PA intake for UnitedHealthcare and external book-of-business clients)
• ✓ Prime Therapeutics — 1-800-821-4795 (BCBS-aligned PBM serving multiple Blues plans)

Medicare Advantage Carriers

Medicare Advantage prior authorization is governed by CMS rules — 72 hours for expedited Part C, 24 hours for expedited Part D, 14 days standard. The intake numbers below route to MA-specific PA queues, which is important because commercial intake lines often cannot pull MA member records.

• ✓ UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage — 1-800-711-4555 (Part D via OptumRx) and 1-877-842-3210 (Part C medical PA)
• ✓ Aetna Medicare Advantage — 1-800-624-0756 (Part C precertification); 1-800-414-2386 (Part D coverage determination)
• ✓ Humana Medicare Advantage — 1-800-523-0023 (Part C); 1-800-555-2546 (Humana Clinical Pharmacy Review for Part D)
• ✓ Cigna Medicare Advantage — 1-800-668-3813 (Cigna Healthcare Medicare provider services)

What Information to Have Ready When You Call

Calls fail when intake reps cannot identify the member or the request. Before dialing, assemble a one-page sheet with everything the rep will ask. The full set of fields is short but every field is mandatory — missing one usually means a callback.

• ✓ Member full name, date of birth, and member ID exactly as printed on the card (including alpha prefix for BCBS)
• ✓ Group number and plan name (commercial vs MA vs Medicaid)
• ✓ Prescriber NPI, tax ID, and a callback number that reaches a clinical staff member, not voicemail
• ✓ Drug name, strength, dose, frequency, route, and intended duration of therapy
• ✓ Primary ICD-10 code with the highest available specificity, plus any contributing comorbidity codes
• ✓ Prior therapies tried — drug, dose, dates of therapy, and reason for discontinuation (failure, intolerance, contraindication)
• ✓ Relevant lab values, imaging, or disease severity scores referenced in the payer's medical policy
• ✓ Whether the request is standard or expedited, with the clinical reason for expedited review if applicable

When to Use Phone vs Fax vs Portal

Each channel has a use case. Choosing the right one cuts cycle time and reduces rework.

Phone is best for expedited and urgent requests, peer-to-peer scheduling, status checks on a stalled case, clarifying a vague denial reason, and confirming whether a plan is fully insured or self-funded. Phone is also the only channel that can trigger a same-day clinical decision when documentation is already on file.

Fax is best for documentation-heavy submissions where 30+ pages of chart notes, imaging reports, or prior therapy records need to accompany the request. Most payers still accept fax for medical-benefit PAs and treat fax-stamped pages as a complete administrative record. Always include a cover sheet with member ID, NPI, and the PA reference number from the phone intake call.

Portal is best for routine, non-urgent submissions where the criteria are formulaic and the supporting evidence is concise. Portals also produce timestamped audit trails that are useful in later appeals. The downside is silent stalls — a portal request can sit in queue without status updates, while a phone-initiated request leaves a reference number that can be re-queried.

Pro Tips for PA Phone Calls

A few habits separate clinicians who get reliable PA outcomes by phone from those who do not.

• ✓ Get a reference number on every call — without it, the next agent has no record of the conversation
• ✓ Document the rep's first name, employee ID if offered, and the exact time of the call in the patient chart
• ✓ Read the medical policy criterion back to the rep verbatim and ask them to confirm which criterion is failing — this preempts vague denials
• ✓ If the rep verbally indicates denial, request a peer-to-peer with the medical director immediately, before the formal denial letter is generated; many payers allow informal reconsideration at this stage
• ✓ Ask the rep to email or fax the formal denial letter the same day — written denials start the appeal clock, and waiting on US mail can cost a week of the appeal window
• ✓ For expedited requests, state the clinical urgency in one sentence using the federal regulatory language ("delay would seriously jeopardize life, health, or ability to regain maximum function")
• ✓ If the call exceeds 30 minutes without resolution, ask to escalate to a supervisor — long holds rarely produce decisions and the supervisor queue moves faster
• ✓ Recap the agreed next steps and timeline at the end of every call so both sides leave with the same expectation

How RxCheckUp Streamlines Phone-Based PA

RxCheckUp pre-builds the call sheet for every prior authorization — the verified payer phone number, the live medical policy criteria, the patient-specific clinical evidence, and the suggested expedited-review language are all on screen before the call begins. Reference numbers, rep names, and call timestamps are logged directly to the case record so the next clinician picking up the case sees the full call history. When a phone-initiated denial occurs, the platform drafts the peer-to-peer talking points and the formal appeal letter automatically.