Starting in February, health insurer Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield planned to put a time limit on anesthesia coverage during surgeries and procedures. Now, after days of widespread outrage in the broader health insurance industry, Anthem is dropping that policy, the insurer announced on Thursday.
In mid-November, the American Society of Anesthesiologists issued a press release on the policy, which would go into effect in February in states such as Connecticut, New York and Missouri.
“If an anesthesiologist submits a bill for which the actual care time is greater than Anthem's limit, Anthem will deny payment for the anesthesiologist's care,” the group writes. “With this new policy, Anthem will not pay anesthesiologists to provide safe and effective anesthesia care to patients who may need additional care because their surgery is difficult, unusual, or because a complication arises.”
The letter appears to have attracted little public attention until this week, when <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/MorePerfectUS/status/1864363128584130774″>several <a target="_blank" href="https://x.com/GovKathyHochul/status/1864495315362926753″>publications Comments about the policy change began to circulate on social media. The posts gained traction after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot dead in New York Wednesday in what police say was a targeted attack.
A spokesperson for Anthem's parent company, Elevance Health, said The New York Times That “misinformation” about the plan contributed to Anthem's reversal.
“We realized, based on all the feedback we've received in the last 24 hours, that our communication on the policy was not clear, which is why we are stepping back,” Janey Kiryluik, vice president of staff corporate communications, is quoted as saying. . as he says.
