Insurance company makes major U-turn after plan to put time limits on anesthesia coverage during surgery

An insurance company has stopped its plan to limit the amount of time it would cover anesthesia used in surgeries and procedures.

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield insurance previously said it would deny any claims for anesthesia services that went over specific time limits set for surgeries and procedures. The change was meant to come into effect from February.

The change was said to be part of an effort to make healthcare more affordable by avoiding overbilling for anesthesia.

However, the proposal was met with calls against going through with it — one major professional group of anesthesiologists called it an ‘unprecedented move’.

The proposed change drew lots of criticism (Christopher Furlong / Staff / Getty)

The American Society of Anesthesiologists said: “Anesthesiologists provide individualized care to every patient, carefully assessing the patient’s health prior to the surgery, looking at existing diseases and medical conditions to determine the resources and medical expertise needed, attending to the patient during the entire procedure, resolving unexpected complications that may arise and/or extend the duration of the surgery, and working to ensure that the patient is comfortable during recovery.”

Anesthesiologists weighed in on the proposed change and said it would have added undue strain to care providers and patients.

Dr. Gordon Morewood, vice chair for the American Society of Anesthesiologists’ Committee on Economics said there is a lot of variability in the amount of time needed under anesthesia depending on the procedure, CNN reports.

The insurance company has reversed its decision (Pancake Pictures / Getty)

The proposed change resulted in a huge reaction on social media, as did the decision to reverse it. One Reddit user commented: “My dental insurance didn't want to pay for anesthesia during dental surgery. I had to get my oral surgeon to write a dumb-a** note like ‘patient needs to be knocked out when mouth bones traumatically removed, k thx.’ Surely they don't think we're going under anesthesia just for s***s and giggles?”

Another concerned person shared: “There’s so many moral and safety issues with this decision it boggles the mind.

Now, the insurance company has halted its plan. Anthem Blue Cross Shield said on Thursday (December 5) it would no longer move forward with its policy change.

“There has been significant widespread misinformation about an update to our anesthesia policy. As a result, we have decided to not proceed with this policy change,” the insurance company said in a statement to UNILAD.

“To be clear, it never was and never will be the policy of Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield to not pay for medically necessary anesthesia services. The proposed update to the policy was only designed to clarify the appropriateness of anesthesia consistent with well-established clinical guidelines.”