Anthem Reversed Its Policy on Anesthesia Caps: Big Win for MSSNY!
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Colleagues:
The historian Tacitus once said, “Victory is claimed by all, failure to one alone.” The truth of this aphorism was repeated this week, when Anthem reversed its ill-begotten policy to cap NY payments for anesthesia services based on average surgical times. Aside from the fact that anesthesiologists have absolutely no control over how long a surgical procedure may take, this bone-headed policy would have led to a shortage of anesthesiologists and adversely impacted the care of our patients. MSSNY worked with the New York State Society of Anesthesiologists in efforts to reverse this policy, and Governor Hochul was extraordinarily helpful in making this happen.
When announcing her success, the Governor stated, “Last night, I shared my outrage at a plan from Anthem to strip away coverage from New Yorkers who had to go under anesthesia for surgery. We pushed Anthem to reverse course and today they will be announcing a full reversal of this misguided policy. Don’t mess with the health and well-being of New Yorkers — not on my watch.”
The Governor did something wonderful for our patients and for our profession. I urge everyone to thank her, and at the same time, ask for something more: for her to veto the Grieving Families Act, which landed on her desk on Thursday. Click on this link now, and MSSNY will make it easy to do so.
All the best,
Jerome C. Cohen, MD
MSSNY President
