Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield have reversed a policy change that would have seen them tie payments in some states to the length of time a patient went under anesthesia.
The insurance company, which is one of the largest health insurance companies in the country, backtracked on the move following widespread outcry.
Their decision came just a day after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot dead in Manhattan on Wednesday morning.
In a statement the company said: ‘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 company would have used ‘physician work time values,’ which is published by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, as the metric for anesthesia limits, with maternity patients and patients under the age of 22 were exempt.
The insurance company, which is one of the largest health insurance companies in the country, backtracked on the move following widespread outcry
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