KFF Health News Feb 19 2026 Less than 36 hours before his wife was scheduled to undergo major surgery, New York Times personal finance columnist Ron Lieber got an unwelcome letter from his family's insurance plan: It was denying prior authorization for the procedure.  With no time to lodge an appeal, Lieber and his wife decided to proceed and bet on her doctors' ability to reverse the decision post-surgery. They succeeded, but the experience troubled Lieber. Why had no one warned them sooner?