Anthem takes back plan to limit anesthesia coverage after public backlash

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield (ELV-1.38%) (BCBS) is backing off of a plan that would have placed a cap on the amount of time it covers for anesthesia used during medical procedures.

The change, announced on Thursday, comes after the insurer faced pushback regarding the plan from a professional group as well as intense backlash on social media.

“There has been significant widespread misinformation about an update to our anesthesia policy. As a result, we have decided to not proceed with this policy change,” a spokesperson told Quartz in an emailed statement. “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.”

Antehem BCBS announced last month that the now-cancelled policy would have gone in effect starting February 2025 in Connecticut, New York, and Missouri. The changed triggered immediate disapproval from the American Society of Anesthesiologists.

“With this new policy, Anthem will arbitrarily pre-determine the time allowed for anesthesia care during a surgery or procedure,” the industrty group said in a statement at the time. “If an anesthesiologist submits a bill where the actual time of care is longer than Anthem’s limit, Anthem will deny payment for the anesthesiologist’s care.”

Among the wider public, the rule change received little attention until UnitedHealth CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in New York City on Wednesday, sparking heightened public scrutiny over health insurers.

Multiple outlets reported on Thursday that shell casings from the shooting had the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose” written on them. Some have speculated that these words refer to terms industry critics use to describe tactics that insurers employ to deny claims.

Several posts on social media brought attention to the rule.

On Thursday evening, New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Connecticut Comptroller Sean Scanlon posted on the social media site X that they were able to get Anthem to reverse their policy.

“We pushed Anthem to reverse course on their decision to strip anesthesia coverage away from New Yorkers and today they will be announcing a full reversal of this misguided policy,” Hochul wrote in the post.