[Welcome Industry Radar readers!]
A while back we posted about the Aetna Repo Man who approved a prosthetic arm, then promptly sent someone to repossess it.
It seems the folks in Hartford are at it again.
Responding to a storm of criticism, Aetna has agreed to suspend its plan to stop paying for use of a strong anesthetic during colonoscopies. Aetna had announced that it would no longer pay for routine use of the drug propofol, which often is administered by an anesthesiologist. The health plan had said that it objected to the additional $300 to $1,000 needed for an anesthesiologist in the procedure, given that they didn't believe it improved outcomes.
Anesthetic does not improve the outcome.
Well, duh!
Of course the proctologist is going to see the same results. The issue here is patient comfort, not examination results.
What were they thinking?
So now they have announced they were only kidding and will allow anesthetic during a colonoscopy.
Aetna, we're not so glad we met ya.