I have never heard of a patient being required to obtain a prior authorization. In fact, as a provider, I would not count on any authorization that was not received directly from the insurance representative. Even with this, payment is sometimes denied for “no auth”.We then have to appeal with the authorization number along with the name of the rep and date of the conversation.
Some plans do require referrals from primary care providers to specialists and it is common practice that patients obtain the referral.