Anthem reverses policy limiting anesthesia coverage in CT, comptroller says

A new Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield policy to limit anesthesia coverage will reportedly not take effect in Connecticut after state Comptroller Sean Scanlon negotiated with the company, he said Thursday.

“After hearing from people across the state about this concerning policy, my office reached out to Anthem, and I’m pleased to share this policy will no longer be going into effect here in Connecticut,” Scanlon said in a statement Thursday morning.

The new policy and outrage against it dominated headlines across the country Thursday, with doctors and anesthesiologists decrying it.

The policy, set to take effect in February, would have limited coverage for anesthesia services to set time parameters. Services needed for the surgery or procedure that exceeded the set time limits would not be covered.

The policy, which may still be implemented in other states, exempts maternity patients and those under 22.

In a statement from the American Society of Anesthesiologists, Donald E. Arnold, M.D., FACHE, FASA  blasted the policy and the company.

“This is just the latest in a long line of appalling behavior by commercial health insurers looking to drive their profits up at the expense of patients and physicians providing essential care,” he said. “It’s a cynical money grab by Anthem, designed to take advantage of the commitment anesthesiologists make thousands of times each day to provide their patients with expert, complete and safe anesthesia care. This egregious policy breaks the trust between Anthem and its policyholders who expect their health insurer to pay physicians for the entirety of the care they need.”

U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy Wednesday night on X called on the company to reverse the decision, saying, “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.”

State Sen. Jeff Gordon, also a member of the legislature’s Public Health Committee and a practicing physician, wrote a letter to Anthem criticizing the policy.

“There are many real-world examples that I can provide as a medical doctor that illustrate how a predetermined time limit for anesthesiology coverage is not reasonable because there are many other medical factors at play. Each patient is different. Each surgery is different,” he said in a statement.

In the letter, he wrote “This policy is contrary to providing good and safe medical care for people in Connecticut and other states. It could lead to avoidable adverse events and/or unnecessary bad outcomes. Why would Anthem BCBS pursue such a policy?”

State Sen. Saud Anwar, Senate chair of the Public Health Committee and himself a doctor, first issued a statement of ‘outrage’ and amended his comments after Scanlon’s announcement.

“It’s relieving and reassuring that Anthem will no longer impose this policy in Connecticut,” Anwar said. “I would encourage them to go further and cancel its implementation in the other states they plan to use it in. Data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services shows Anthem cancels as many as one in five in-network claims. If this policy goes into place, I expect that rate may increase.”

Attorney General William Tong agreed on the reversal news.

“Good. The anesthesia coverage cap was a terrible policy,” Tong said. “Neither patients nor anesthesiologists can control the length of a surgical procedure once it begins. What did Anthem expect doctors to do? Wake patients up in the middle of surgery? I’m glad Anthem listened to patients and doctors and reversed course.”

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