A controversial new health insurance policy changing the way anesthesia is covered for surgeries is not coming to New York state after all.
There was plenty of outrage about an Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield announcement saying it would not pay for anesthesia care in New York, Connecticut and Missouri if surgery goes over a certain time.
But Anthem reversed course Thursday, citing what it called widespread misinformation in not proceeding with the policy.
The company claimed that it was never the policy to “not pay for medically necessary anesthesia services.”
The American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) had come out strongly against the policy update, saying anesthesia care is too unique to be restricted, the time limit Anthem set was arbitrary and it could also continue to erode public trust in the health care industry.
“I believe it's just another example of an insurance carrier putting profits over patient care," said Dr. Jonathan Gal, ASA Economics Committee chair. "Anthem themselves made over $6 billion in profits last year. And they're trying to pad this with a policy like this, but they don't pay for actual anesthetic care being provided to their patients and beneficiaries.”
In a statement, Gov. Kathy Hochul said she pushed Anthem to change course on this policy. That came just hours after Connecticut’s comptroller announced the changes would not come to the state.