Almost as quickly as it came, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield’s proposed policy to limit reimbursement for anesthesia beyond a certain time limit has disappeared, leaving in its wake a trail of unanswered questions and broken trust.
On Nov. 1, the commercial insurer announced—in a now-retracted statement—that its insurance plans in Connecticut, New York and Missouri would no longer pay for anesthesia care for procedures exceeding an arbitrary time limit,