ILLINOIS (25News Now) -- A new Illinois bill proposed Wednesday would make it illegal for insurance companies to place a time limit on coverage for anesthesia, even during surgery.
The bill comes after the insurer, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield, tried to do this in Missouri and New York last month, and then quickly backtracked.
Republican State lawmaker, Rep. William Hauter, who is also a physician and anesthesiologist, said putting a time limit on coverage for an operation is ‘dangerous’ and ‘unethical’, because surgeons and patients have little control over the operation length, due to things like abnormal anatomy or other factors.
“There’s now an incentive to finish in a certain amount of time that the insurance company says is appropriate. So now, are you going to rush the surgery,” he questioned. “Are there going to be any complications you don’t see before? Will there be equipment problems?”
The Surgeon-In-Chief at OSF St. Francis, Dr. Guy Petruzzelli, said several factors make up the time length, and the dose of anesthesia given to patients.
“The duration of that time that a patient spends in the care of the anesthesiologist is a function of the complexity of the operation. The patient’s complexity and other medical issues,” he said.
25News contacted Anthem and could not get a statement from the parent company.
We also contacted Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, and a spokesperson answered in an email.
“While we do not comment on pending or proposed legislation, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Illinois did not propose time limit changes to its anesthesia reimbursement policies. Each Blue Cross Blue Shield plan makes its own medical policy decisions.”
