According to a Feb. 4 news release, legislators in the state’s ninth district introduced the legislation after Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield implemented and then reversed a controversial decision to implement a new reimbursement structure to anesthesia payments based on CMS physician work time values.
The bill was introduced by state Sen. Carmen Amato and Assemblymen Greg Myhre and Brian Rumpf.
“While to our knowledge this policy is not being considered by any carriers providing services in New Jersey, we weren’t taking any chances,” the legislators said in the news release. “So, we moved quickly to introduce legislation to prohibit health insurance carriers from placing a time limit on anesthesia coverage, preventing patients from being saddled with thousands of dollars in medical expenses.”
