Itamar Medical Ltd. announced that effective July 2020, Independence Blue Cross (IBC) has removed their prior authorization requirement for home sleep apnea tests (HSAT) following an extensive dialog that included presentation of evidence. All membership approaching five million members across 27 states has been impacted within the Family of Companies, which includes Independence Blue Cross, AmeriHealth New Jersey, Independence Administrators, and AmeriHealth Administrators. While Medicare does not require prior authorization for home sleep studies, most commercial health plans still require it for their members, practically reducing materially the economic incentive to conduct HSATs. With this update, nearly all IBC members will benefit from the option to take a sleep apnea test at home with no pre-authorization burden. It is estimated that 54 - 60 million people in the U.S suffer from sleep apnea, with roughly 80% of cases going undiagnosed and even more untreated. Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. Sleep apnea is also often associated with other serious health problems, especially cardiovascular disease.