Sleeping Bills: Unpacking Anthem’s Anesthesia Coverage Policy Reversal

  • Dec 20, 2024

    In recent weeks, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield has faced intense backlash over a policy change that would have allowed some plans to reject claims for anesthesia services that go beyond a set time limit. Although Anthem ultimately backed off the policy, the outrage that fueled the reversal may be tied to the anti-insurer sentiment that bubbled up after the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. 

    In fact, Anthem posted a bulletin retracting its new policy Dec. 5, one day after Thompson was killed in what authorities said was a targeted shooting outside a New York City hotel.  

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  • Leslie Small

    Leslie has been working in journalism since 2009 and reporting on the health care industry since 2014. She has covered the many ups and downs of the Affordable Care Act exchanges, the failed health insurer mega-mergers, and hundreds of other storylines spanning subjects such as Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage, employer-sponsored insurance, and prescription drug coverage. As the managing editor of Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits, she writes and edits for both publications while overseeing a small team of reporters who also focus on the managed care sector. Before joining AIS Health, she was a senior editor for the e-newsletter Fierce Health Payer, and she started her career as a copy editor at multiple local newspapers. She graduated with a dual degree in journalism and political science from Penn State University.

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