Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield has cancelled plans to institute time limits on anesthesia services in Connecticut amid a firestorm of criticism from legislators and medical professionals.
The policy, which the company published on its website at the beginning of November, would have denied claims for anesthesia services in cases where surgeries went longer than a specified time limit, based on what the company referred to as “[Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services] Physician Work Time values.”
The change was set to take effect in New York, Connecticut and Missouri on February 1, 2025, according to a release by the American Society of Anesthesiologists. At the beginning of this month, the company alerted providers that a similar policy would be implemented in Colorado beginning in March of next year.
Stephanie DuBois, a spokesperson from Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Connecticut, confirmed that the policy change would be cancelled in Connecticut, as well as in the other states where the company had planned to roll it out.
“There has been significant widespread misinformation about an update to our anesthesia policy,” stated DuBois in emailed comments. “As a result, we have decided to not proceed with this policy change. 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.”
The uproar around Anthem’s attempt to limit coverage of anesthesiology services comes as the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson has brought into focus the fraught relationship that many people have with the country’s large insurers.
On Wednesday evening, the day before Anthem announced the policy’s cancellation, U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., took to the platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to react to the new pending restrictions.
“This is appalling. Saddling patients with thousands of dollars in surprise additional medical debt. And for what? Just to boost corporate profits? Reverse this decision immediately,” posted Murphy.
Sen. Jeff Gordon, R-Woodstock, a practicing physician, wrote to Anthem in late November to ask the insurer about the motivation behind the policy.
“Why would Anthem BCBS set a time limit on covering anesthesiology time for surgeries and procedures? Is there research or data that supports the company’s policy on this matter? For patients, it raises the concern that profits are being prioritized over medical care,” he stated.
To date, Anthem has not fully responded to Gordon’s inquiry, according to his spokesperson Matt Fraulino.
Kenneth Stone, a Connecticut-based anesthesiologist and member of the Connecticut State Society of Anesthesiologists, said that, in light of Anthem’s announcement, state leaders and medical colleagues, even outside of anesthesiology, have been speaking up on their behalf.
“The support that we had from both medical and non-medical professionals and people of interest has been very gratifying,” said Stone. “I would imagine it played a large part in why they ultimately backed off the policy.”
On Thursday, state officials, including Sen. Saud Anwar, D-South Windsor, and Attorney General William Tong, released statements supporting the company’s decision to cancel the policy’s implementation.
This story was originally published in the Connecticut Mirror Dec. 5, 2024.
