Anesthesia

Here are two anesthesia legal battles Becker's has reported on since Dec. 21:

From license suspensions to leadership moves, here are five anesthesiologists who have made headlines since Dec. 5:

Cigna terminated its contract with Knoxville-based American Anesthesiology of Tennessee, an affiliate of North American Partners in Anesthesia, on Jan. 1, the medical practice said. 

An anesthesiologist affiliated with Northwell Health has been arrested for allegedly giving a woman anesthesia without her knowledge and sexually abusing her on multiple occasions, the Rockland Journal News reported Jan. 3. 

Anesthesia services provider NorthStar Anesthesia has expanded its services to Pocatello, Idaho-based Portneuf Health, including Portneuf Medical Center and Portneuf Gastroenterology and Endoscopy Center in Pocatello and the Rocky Mountain Surgery Center, also in Pocatello. 

Here are five numbers that offer a snapshot of the state of anesthesiology today:  

The changes in anesthesiologist reimbursement and pay have surgery center leaders rethinking their anesthesia models.

Four anesthesia practices are suing CMS and HHS, among other parties, alleging CMS' methodology for calculating reimbursements is illegal in its inclusion of costs associated with nonphysician practitioners. 

The highest paid anesthesiologist in Las Vegas earns $627,200 per year, according to Medscape's salary reporter tool, which is much higher than the mean annual wage of $302,970 anesthesiologists make according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

For ASCs, providing anesthesia in 2023 was a huge obstacle amid provider shortages and declining reimbursements.