December 6, 2024
The nation’s second-largest health insurer, Anthem, has rescinded a controversial policy to pay for anesthesia only up to a certain time limit that sparked outrage among anesthesiology professionals and state officials.
The company announced November 1 it would deny claims for anesthesia that exceeded time limits set by the insurer, with exceptions for maternity care and patients younger than 22 years. The policy was set to begin February 1 for commercial plans and Medicaid managed care plans in Colorado, Connecticut, New York, and Missouri.
But after behind-the-scenes lobbying by anesthesiology groups and intense public criticism as news spread online this week, Anthem said Thursday it would no longer pursue the policy. The insurer serves about 46 million enrollees in its health plans and its parent company, Elevance Health, reported $170 billion in revenues in 2023.
“There has been significant widespread misinformation about an update to our anesthesia policy,” Elevance Health spokeswoman Janey Kiryluik told Medscape Medical News. “As a result, we have decided to not proceed with this policy change.”
The reversal comes several weeks after officials from the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) met briefly with Anthem.
Read more at Medscape Medical News.